Property Types  Multi-Family
HUD Awards Over $1B in Recovery Act Funds to Jump Start Affordable Housing Construction
Jul 02, 2009
By: Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, Multi-Housing News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is approving plans submitted by state housing finance agencies for  $1 billion to jump start affordable housing programs in states throughout the country that are currently stalled due to the economic recession. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HUD's new Tax Credit Assistance Program will allow 26 state housing finance agencies to resume funding of affordable rental housing projects across the nation while stimulating employment in the hard-hit construction trades.

“The purpose of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to jumpstart the nation's ailing economy, with a primary focus on creating and saving jobs in the near term," says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "The funding being announced is an important step in achieving the goal of putting the American people back to work while providing quality, affordable housing options for low-income families at a time when those options are needed more than ever."

The current economic and financial crises present significant challenges for the construction industry, particularly residential construction. One of the by-products of this crisis has been the freezing of investments in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) market. The tax credits create an incentive for investors to provide capital to developers to build multifamily rental housing for moderate- and low-income families across the nation. Since the contraction of the credit market, and as traditional investors remain on the sidelines, the value of tax credits has plummeted. Consequently, as many as 1,000 projects (featuring nearly 150,000 units of housing) are on hold across the country.

In response, the Recovery Act provides $2.25 billion for TCAP, a grant program to provide capital investments in these stalled LIHTC developments. HUD is awarding these TCAP grants by formula to 52 state housing credit agencies (all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) to complete construction of qualified housing projects that will ultimately provide affordable housing to an estimated 35,000 households nationwide. Since a major purpose of this program is job creation, the Recovery Act establishes ambitious deadlines for expenditure of grant funds and requires state housing credit agencies to give priority to projects that can begin immediately and be completed by February 16, 2012.

Under this first round of TCAP funds, 26 state housing finance agencies received awards today. The remaining 26 grants are to follow in the coming weeks.

 SOURCE: Multi-Housing News



 
Recent Multi-Family Headlines
Multi-family Mortgage Originations Down 54 Percent from Same Time Last Year
Commercial and multi-family mortgage originations haven’t escaped the trickle down of the recession and the credit crunch, with volumes 54 percent below last year's second quarter and 83 percent below the peak seen in the second quarter of 2007, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.
LoopNet Poll: Industry Expects Continued Price Declines, Eyes M-F as Top Sector
Confidence has waned about a near-term recovery in the commercial real estate industry, according to a new poll by commercial property listing service LoopNet Inc.
$1B HUD Infusion Could Give Jump to Stalled Affordable Housing Projects
When the credit markets froze, so did the development of much-needed affordable housing across the nation, but the U.S. Housing & Urban Development is making strides in tackling the issue. The agency, acting through its new $2.25 billion Tax Credit Assistance Program, which is funded via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, has just approved the second dispensation of approximately $1.2 billion to state housing finance agencies in 26 states to finance the resurrection of various affordable rental housing programs.
New Firm Banks on NYC Multi-Family Market
The current economic climate is certainly putting a drag on many in the commercial property business. But Kevin Salmon is betting that now is a time of opportunity. To that end, Salmon has launched Salmon and Marshall Real Estate Investments, a new firm that will provide investment sales and consultation services in Manhattan’s apartment and condominium markets.
Post Sells Atlanta, Fairfax Properties for $100 Million
Post Properties Inc. sold Post Ridge in Atlanta to a locally based entity affiliated with Centennial Holding Company L.L.C. for $44.8 million following Monday's sale of Post Forest in Fairfax, Va., to an entity affiliated with Pantzer Properties Inc. for $57.5 million. CB Richard Ellis Inc. brokered the most recent transaction, while the Post Forest deal was brokered by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. The REIT expects to report net gains of approximately $54 million relating to the sales.