Workforce Housing Gets Creative With Funding

Workforce housing development and investment will continue to be a focus through 2020, and with rising demand for this market segment, investors are getting increasingly creative and strategic about workforce housing financing. As a result, there will not only be an ongoing focus around this market segment, but also—hopefully—strides in the right direction.

“I expect to see an ongoing focus on permanent supportive housing and the “missing middle,” as well as continued discussions about rent restrictions, prioritizing the allocation of subsides and tools outside of Low Income Housing Tax Credit to explore,” Cecile Chalifour, west division manager for community development banking at Chase, tells GlobeSt.com. “We expect a high number of large projects financed through bonds to be bid out this year, which may push equity pricing down, and we still expect competitive capital to be available on the debt side.”

California has been working in this direction, but this is really a national conversation. “California has been at the forefront of adding resources and thinking creatively to support affordable housing, thanks to developers, voters and local and state governments,” says Chalifour. “Still, more resources and new tools are needed to help expand the pool of sustainable options and produce more affordable housing in the long term. It’s truly a national conversation and we expect to see more transactions, increasing costs and creating some limitations. The industry is very creative, nimble and committed, and the stakeholders are dedicated to helping design a truly comprehensive and long term strategy for affordable housing across California.”