NEWS HEADLINES

California Sees Jump in LIHTC Volume

By Donna Kimura

It’s a big year for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and tax-exempt bonds in California.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) has reserved credits to 101 developments compared with 75 last year, reported William Pavao, executive director of the committee, at the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California conference.

He pointed out that credits per unit are down roughly 24 percent.

Volume is also way up for 4 percent credits, returning to pre-recession levels with the committee awarding these credits to 103 projects to date, with about a dozen more pending. This compares with 49 deals last year.

The California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) is also seeing a big jump in demand for bond financing, with about 140 applications compared with 67 last year.

The increase is attributed to several factors, including the ramp-up in the New Issue Bond Program, said Misti Armstrong, program manager at CDLAC.

Representatives of the state housing agencies, including CTCAC, CDLAC, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the California Housing Finance Agency, also reported that they are co-sponsoring a study that examines the costs of developing affordable housing compared with market-rate developments. The study will also look at what contributes to the costs of affordable housing.

The effort comes at a time when the cost of developing affordable housing is coming under increased scrutiny across the country.