Investing in Affordable Housing: A Strong Asset Class

Shore Hill Housing, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Realizing Impactful Returns in Affordable Housing Institutions look beyond challenges to tap investment opportunities in affordable housing

By Beth Mattson-Teig

S olving the affordable housing crisis in this country is a daunting task that will require a collaborative effort from a myriad of pub- lic, private and philanthropic capital sources. Institutional investors have an opportunity to take a bigger step into the affordable housing sector, and, in the process, drive positive social and financial results for their companies, share- holders and communities. The shortage of affordable housing is a well- documented issue across the country from rural towns to major metros. According to The State of

the Nation’s Housing 2019, published by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, nearly half of all renter households (47.4 percent) are cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of incomes for housing. Institutional capital fills a critical need with investment opportunities on both the equity and debt side of both financing new development and preserving existing afford- able housing rental properties. “Institutional capital has come to under- stand affordable housing more as an asset class, and come to understand some of the unique

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A Difference Maker

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