How Lenders Are Supporting Affordable Housing Construction

Anand Kannan

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Demand for affordable housing is growing across the country, including in emerging markets like Denver. However, capital is catching on to the need for affordable housing, both on new development projects and LIHTC-backed rehab projects. This capital has been an important aspect of bringing more affordable housing to markets suffering from a housing shortage.

“Investors such as banks and insurance companies are realizing that there is incredible value in LIHTC-backed rehab projects,” Anand Kannan, leader of the preservation and development teams at Community Preservation Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. “In addition to offsetting tax burdens and providing a yield that is competitive to market-rate investments, an affordable housing investment comes with significantly lower risk of vacancy.”

It isn’t only the financial benefits, but capital is also attracted to social impact benefits of affordable housing. “Investors also enjoy the derivative impact of deploying capital with a purpose, which generates value in the form of PR and employee productivity,” says Kannan. “The rehab model, particularly, supports intangible value through environmental sustainability because no property is cleaner than the one that’s already built. All of this ROI adds up to an enticing proposition for those in charge of capital investments.”