Phoenix marks largest disparity between affordable housing, families in need
May 21, 2017, 7:25 AM | Updated: 12:46 pm
(Twitter Photo/@visitphoenix)
(Twitter Photo/@visitphoenix)
PHOENIX — A recent report found that Phoenix has the largest disparity between families in need and available affordable housing units.
According to HousingFinance.com, the MPF Research report found Phoenix has just 6.08 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, units per 100 low-income households.
The Valley was followed shortly behind by Pittsburgh and Syracuse, New York.
Richmond, Virginia; topped the list with 22 units per every 100 low-income households, followed shortly behind by Kansas City with 21.68 units and Virginia Beach with 21.05 units.
The report also found that Phoenix was among the top metropolitan areas nationwide with LIHTC units at risk.
Just over 41 percent of units — 41.3 percent, to be exact — in Phoenix are expected to expire over the next four years, the report found. This places Phoenix among the San Antonio and Hartford housing markets.
“Looking at the lists, no clear trends emerge that indicate why designated affordable housing is more scarce in some areas than in others,” the report said.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which was created under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for affordable housing investments.
In order to receive the tax break, the report said, “a property must adhere to a rent level affordable relative to a metro area’s median income, specified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
The credit expires after 15 years, but can be extended. If it is not extended, rents could increase to the market level.
