Multi-Housing News - April 2009 - (Page 16)

profile Facing the Affordable Housing Challenge By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Editor Financing and developing affordable housing is never an easy task. And in today’s economic environment—one many observers are calling the worst in seven decades—affordable housing development is more challenging than ever. But obstacles often bring out the best in the industry’s leaders, among them BRIDGE Housing’s Carol Galante, Carlisle Development’s Matthew Greer, Enterprise Homes’ Chickie Grayson and MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners’ Michael Costa. According to Grayson, affordable housing is generally defined as housing for those earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Workforce housing, she says, has a much broader definition, and is often thought of as housing affordable to those earning more than 60 percent but less than 120 percent to 150 percent of the median. “There are no programs at the federal level to create affordable housing for those with incomes of above 60 percent of median,” she adds. A number of demographic and societal trends are driving the need for affordable housing, according to Greer. One such development is increasing urbanization, which means there’s more competition for housing opportunities in high-growth job markets, he points out. In addition, income The economic meltdown, demographics and trends such as income disparity are driving the need for development… now more than ever disparity between the highest- and lowest-earning deciles of the country continues to grow. “And you have a continuing pressure on wages from immigration and off-shoring of minimum- and lower-wage jobs,” Greer says. For her part, Grayson believes housing price hikes render housing unaffordable for an ever-larger segment of the population, who find they have to pay a greater percentage of their income for housing. “The need is great, and it’s always there,” she remarks. “It seems the one area where we haven’t paid a lot of attention yet is the segment of the senior population at 60 to 80 percent of median.” Multi-Housing News takes a close look at four of the nation’s leading participants in affordable housing, exploring their views on the challenges and opportunities today’s market environment presents. BRIDGE Housing Corp. San Francisco Number of units developed: More than 13,000 homes since 1983 Regions: California Dollars in development: $1.8 billion in construction and/or in approvals Carol Galante, president and chief executive officer. At press time, Galante was recently appointed by President Barack Obama as deputy secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she will be responsible for HUD’s financing support for the development and preservation of privately owned rental housing. BRIDGE Housing is a non-profit, entrepreneurial developer, 16 April 2009 | Multi-Housing News | Official Publication of Multi-Housing World

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - April 2009

Multi-Housing News - April 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Executive Insight: Sue Ansel
Finance: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
Quote of the Month
Market Forecast: Texas
Profile: Affordable Developers
Operations: Green Laundry Rooms
Technology: BIM
Kitchen & Bath: Tile Installation
Perspective: Doug Bibby, NMHC

Multi-Housing News - April 2009