Latest news with #Low-IncomeHousingTaxCredit
Business Wire
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Guardian Doubles Washington Presence with Addition of Nine HUD Communities
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Guardian, a leader in Pacific Northwest multifamily property operations, is proud to announce it assumed management of nine HUD-subsidized apartment communities serving low-income seniors and families across Washington. 'This expansion reflects our continued commitment to providing housing for all and strengthens our ability to serve more Washington housing communities with the care and attention they deserve.' Tom Brenneke, President, Guardian Share The transition includes a total of 1,300 apartment homes located in nine counties, spanning from Vancouver to Port Townsend and Spokane to Chehalis, marking a significant expansion of Guardian's affordable housing management portfolio. These communities provide affordable housing options for seniors and families throughout Washington. The phased transition took effect on February 1, 2025, for four communities, and April 1, 2025, for the remaining five. With this addition, Guardian doubled its presence in Washington, and the Evergreen State now makes up 20% of its managed portfolio. 'We're honored to be a trusted partner in preserving housing that helps these communities thrive,' said Tom Brenneke, President of Guardian. 'This expansion reflects our continued commitment to providing housing for all and strengthens our ability to serve more Washington housing communities with the care and attention they deserve.' Guardian brings more than 20 years of experience in the management of affordable housing, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and HUD-subsidized properties. As property manager, Guardian will oversee all operational aspects of the nine communities, including compliance, maintenance, marketing, and resident support, with a focus on supporting long-term housing preservation. About Guardian Guardian is a developer, owner, and operator of multifamily properties, providing innovative real estate solutions dedicated to community and housing for all. Based in the Pacific Northwest, our customer-focused team is committed to supporting and lifting the communities we serve. Since 2002, Guardian has developed or acquired 11,000 multifamily units and 350,000 square feet of commercial space. With more than 450 team members, our management portfolio consists of 135 communities across four states. For more information, visit
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Tax Law Is Surprise Boon for Affordable Housing Creation
(Bloomberg) — A set of provisions tucked into President Donald Trump's new tax-and-spending law has real estate developers and affordable housing proponents cheering – though some view it as a bittersweet victory. Singer Akon's Failed Futuristic City in Senegal Ends Up a $1 Billion Resort Are Tourists Ruining Europe? How Locals Are Pushing Back Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? Denver City Hall Takes a Page From NASA The law makes significant changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit and Opportunity Zones, three tax-based community development programs that housing groups and private sector investors broadly favor. The revamp is expected to spur construction of new apartment buildings and renovation of older ones, with housing analysts saying they could create as many as 1.2 million more affordable units over the next ten years than they would have if the programs had remained the same. 'We think of it as the single largest increase in affordable rental housing resources in at least 25 years,' said Peter Lawrence, the chief public policy officer at Novogradac, a consulting firm with a focus on real estate. The new law increases some tax benefits investors can get for putting capital into affordable housing projects through the Low-Income Housing program. It also makes permanent other credits through the New Markets program, adding clarity for investors and developers seeking to make long-term plans. And it sets stricter standards for Opportunity Zones, in a move to prevent misuse and ensure that private investment dollars reach the low-income communities for which they were intended. Together, those measures are poised to incentivize more construction of affordable units in targeted neighborhoods and, in turn, ease some of the housing price pressure that has burdened an increasingly broad swathe of Americans. That makes the provisions something of an anomaly in a law that has become known for cuts to programs for the poor paired with giveaways to the wealthiest Americans. An analysis by economists at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School says the law will leave households in low-income and some middle-income categories 'worse off' overall. 'It's the gives and the takes,' said Jeff Monge, managing partner of Monge Capital, a real estate investment advisory firm specializing in public-private partnerships. 'The gives are these tax credit opportunities for investors to divert or make their investments that will eventually create prosperity for the communities that they invest in. But then you've got to pay for it. How are you paying for it? It ends up being a rollback on the very same communities that you're trying to help on the other side.' The changes come during a housing affordability crisis that experts say is the worst in recent memory. A June report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies found a record high number of renters — almost 23 million — are considered 'cost-burdened,' meaning more than 30% of their incomes go to paying for housing and utilities. The crisis is being driven in large part by a lack of housing supply. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates a shortage of roughly 7 million affordable housing units across the US. While affordable housing measures are often thought of as a priority of the Democratic Party, these measures were palatable to Republicans in part due to how they were structured: They are tax breaks rather than funding allocations, and they lay responsibility for maintaining the quality of affordable housing units on the private sector. Under the law, investors cannot get their full tax credits or can have their value clawed back if the units they invested in fall into disrepair or are converted to market-rate units over a 15-year period. The law requires the units to remain affordable for another 15 years after that period ends, but that latter period is harder for the government to enforce. The provision to make the New Markets credits permanent was added in the Senate, where Republicans on the Finance Committee, including Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Montana Senator Steve Daines, shepherded them through. 'This program has been supported by both parties for a long time,' said Bob Rapoza, spokesman for the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, a trade group representing community development funds that use the tax credit. Together, the changes to the programs mirror legislation that housing advocates have been trying to get Congress to pass for a decade. The new law increases the size of tax credits awarded under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and decreases the requirements for public funding by states and municipalities as a proportion of the overall funding package for an affordable housing development. This makes it easier for states, cities and other government entities to fund a greater number of development projects simultaneously while developers use more private financing sources, which are often cheaper than relying on the municipal bond issues. Meanwhile, an expanded pool of investors will be able to use the now-permanent New Markets Tax Credit. Community development organizations can tap into tax credits in the program to fund loans not only for housing development but also for new businesses, manufacturing facilities and cultural spaces. Rapoza's group estimates that over ten years the New Markets program alone could fund around 4,000 projects, add around 17,000 affordable housing units and create as many as 435,000 new jobs. Novogradac's Lawrence said these projections sounded reasonable. The tax law also made permanent Opportunity Zones, a program that gives investors tax breaks for putting money into projects in low-income areas that was created in 2017 as part of Trump's first tax-cut package. Opportunity Zones have drawn some criticism for failing to get private capital to the places where it is most needed and accelerating gentrification forces that push poorer people from their neighborhoods. That's because the program originally let governors designate areas that were near low-income census tracts, but not inside of them, as qualifying for the tax breaks. And it did not require any tracking or reporting on the program's impact. Novogradac's Lawrence said that the tweaks to the standards for Opportunity Zones could help make the program's investments more meaningful and also provide evidence of its worth, helping attract additional investors. A similar dynamic could occur in the New Markets program, according to Monge. Still, the experts noted potential roadblocks for the programs to generate the most possible benefit. Developers using the Low-Income Housing credit often rely in part on other public funding sources, including Community Development Block Grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Trump administration has sought to end that grant program. It has also proposed cutting nearly all of the budget for a Treasury Department office, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, that oversees the administration of the New Markets credit. Monge said he applauded the changes, but hoped they did not leave investors too much room to misbehave. 'We don't have a history of investors looking at doing good and well. There's a history of doing well,' he said. Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? 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Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Tax Law Is Surprise Boon for Affordable Housing Creation
A set of provisions tucked into President Donald Trump's new tax-and-spending law has real estate developers and affordable housing proponents cheering – though some view it as a bittersweet victory. The law makes significant changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit and Opportunity Zones, three tax-based community development programs that housing groups and private sector investors broadly favor. The revamp is expected to spur construction of new apartment buildings and renovation of older ones, with housing analysts saying they could create as many as 1.2 million more affordable units over the next ten years than they would have if the programs had remained the same.
Malaysian Reserve
03-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
ALTA Applauds Congress for Passing Tax Package Preserving Key Real Estate and Housing Provisions
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association representing the land title insurance and settlement services industry, today issued the following statement from ALTA CEO Chris Morton in response to passage of the Tax and Reconciliation Package: 'Federal policy should reflect continued support for policies that promote housing growth, property investment and economic mobility,' Morton said. 'We are encouraged to see lawmakers preserve and enhance provisions vital to a strong real estate market, including the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, the retention of Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, expanded Opportunity Zones and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs.' These tax provisions have long been supported by ALTA and its members, including: The 20% QBI deduction under Section 199A, which provides crucial relief for many small and midsize title and settlement companies organized as pass-through entities. Preservation of Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, which foster investment and development in both residential and commercial markets. Increased cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction to provide relief to homeowners in high-cost areas. Permanent mortgage interest deductibility and enhancements to the Opportunity Zones and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs to expand access to affordable housing and revitalization efforts. 'Real estate and housing plays a critical role in the health of the U.S. economy,' Morton added. 'We commend House and Senate leadership, as well as President Trump, for their commitment to preserving tax provisions that support property investment, small businesses and the broader housing economy.' ALTA will continue to advocate for state and federal policies that address housing affordability, strengthen consumer protections and support the title industry's role in protecting property rights and creating certainty in the real estate market. About ALTAThe American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is a national trade association representing more than 6,000 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers and real estate attorneys. ALTA members conduct title searches, examinations, closings and issue title insurance that protects real property owners and mortgage lenders against losses from defects in titles. Contact: Megan HernandezOffice: 202-261-0315Email: mhernandez@
The Hill
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Republican bailout for blue cities? The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit trap, explained
The Republican Party's much-touted 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' includes a $14 billion bailout for some of America's worst-run cities, all thanks to the proposed expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Doing so would funnel billions more into a program that props up a fundamentally broken housing system without adding the new supply desperately needed to solve the housing crisis. Consider the staggering costs: The average unit covered by this credit costs taxpayers $450,000; in California, it routinely exceeds $1 million per unit. Yet because credit funds are largely allocated to the states based on population, the program attracts bipartisan support. This subsidy is unnecessary for two key reasons. First, in most markets, the private sector already provides affordable housing without taxpayer help. Yardi Matrix data show that in roughly three-quarters of 164 markets studied, market-rate multifamily rents are highly or moderately competitive with so-called affordable, subsidized rents. This proves that the market alone can meet housing needs, when it is allowed to function. Second, where affordability truly lags, the culprit isn't a market failure but a policy failure. The worst affordability crises are in markets in the usual uber-regulated blue states: California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maine and Pennsylvania. In these places, restrictive zoning and excessive regulations choke new supply, pushing rents out of reach. Tellingly, Democrats run nearly all of these non-competitive markets. Some claim expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit could produce 200,000 new 'affordable' units annually. That's a fantasy. Credible research shows the credit does little to add net new supply: Nearly half of its projects are rehabs of existing units, which don't increase the housing stock, while many new developments built with the credit simply crowd out unsubsidized private construction. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit problems go beyond cost and crowding out. The program's complexity, which runs thousands of pages, enriches lawyers and consultants, not renters. Corruption thrives under minimal federal oversight, as highlighted in a 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office. And a cartel of nonprofits and specialized developers profits handsomely by mastering its bureaucracy, stifling competition and innovation. These issues exemplify the Five Cs that make the credit fundamentally flawed: cost, crowding out, complexity, corruption and cartel. The root cause of housing unaffordability is a lack of supply, created by local regulations that make land scarce and building prohibitively expensive. No subsidy can fix that. Rather than expanding tax credits and entrenching failed policies, Congress should send a clear message to states and cities by defunding this credit. Doing so would redirect efforts toward fixing zoning, freeing the market, and allowing housing supply to meet demand. Meaningful reforms by states and localities are straightforward. First, legalize smaller lots in new subdivisions so builders can construct starter homes. Second, allow existing single-family lots to be subdivided for more cost-effective townhomes, duplexes and triplexes. Third, rezone commercial and industrial land for mixed-use residential development. Fourth, keep regulations simple, short, and clear instead of micromanaging the building process. This approach empowers builders to meet demand, as cities like Houston, Minneapolis, Dallas, Urban Philadelphia, Austin and Seattle show, where deliberate policy choices to allow more construction have kept market rents competitive with subsidized units. Encouragingly, more states and localities are moving in the right direction. Florida, which is facing severe rental affordability challenges in its southern markets, already passed the Live Local Act in 2023 through the Republican legislature, unleashing new market-rate supply in previously tight markets — proof that local reform, not federal bailouts, is the key. And just last month, Texas passed a series of pro-housing bills, following the lead of California, Montana, Oregon and others. It's time for policymakers to abandon the myth that subsidies solve housing shortages and provide affordability. The only real solution is more housing, built by a private sector freed from regulatory shackles. Tobias Peter and Edward Pinto are co-directors of the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center.
