News
MULTIFAMILY MONDAY: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO BUY AFFORDABLE
April 16, 2012
| Living at home can be such a drag. A hinky byproduct of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act is ratcheting up the competiton for NYC affordable housing projects among institutional investors. The more property they own here, it turns out, the more they need to invest locally to get CRA credits. |
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| Boston Capital topped the National Multi Housing Council's ranking of the largest owners of apartments this month, so we talked with COO Jeff Goldstein. CRA credits, which affect whether a bank or savings institution can open in a new market or do an M&A there, are awarded by an institution's history of investing in low-income areas where it already has a presence. So a big NYC footprint means that firm needs to invest a lot in NYC's needy neighborhoods so they can go off and do business elsewhere. Of course, as competition for CRA credits drives prices up, yields go down. Jeff says Boston Capital expects to close in June on a deal to provide $18M in equity to a $41M, 140-unit new-construction project in Harlem. The firm usually invests in two or three new or ground-up NYC affordable housing buildings a year. |
