LIHTC Apartment Update
September 21, 2011
In Austin, Apartment Realty Advisors principal Dave Fournier tells us affordable housing occupancy is particularly tight for the LIHTC properties that serve tenants at 30% of area median income and where average market rents are high (i.e. Chicago).
In other words, renters are downgrading asset classes and driving up demand for affordable housing. All of multifamily has been on fire, but investors are moving into affordable from market-rate for the fundamentals. The 2010 poverty level is the highest since ’93.
On a positive note: Class-C occupancy rose from 86.6% to 89.2% in Dallas County over the past six months and from 84.4% to 87.2% in Tarrant County. In tandem, rents rose 2.2% in Dallas County and 2% in Tarrant.