As 2006 neared the mid-year mark, a number of states had made or were about to make their low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) reservations. Several housing finance agency executives reported solid demand for credits, with requests continuing to outpace availability by two- or even three-to-one.
Here’s a roundup of some first-half activity:
The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. reserved $27.4 million in grants and tax credits under the Greater Opportunities for Affordable Living program. Of that amount, $18.2 million came from the tax credit program. The financing will help 13 projects build a total of 282 affordable rental units.
As of April, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) received 77 project applications for tax credits, of which 67 are new construction and the rest are acquisition/rehabilitation. These projects total 5,336 units of housing; 11 of the projects are sponsored by nonprofits and two are sponsored by community housing development organizations.
Award announcements will be made sometime after June 7, according to Earlene Hayden, HOME technician for AHFA. The agency has $8.4 million in tax credit authority.
A total of 51 projects are competing for the more than $10.6 million in tax credits the Arizona Department of Housing will award in 2006. These projects, comprising 2,806 housing units, are requesting $28.3 million in tax credits and $10.6 million from the state housing fund. Awards will be made in mid-June.
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) expects to award $68.8 million in federal tax credits and $74.7 million in state tax credits in 2006. It received 58 applications in the first round requesting approximately $60.1 million in federal tax credits. However, only six projects requested state tax credits – in total asking for $17.8 million.
Four projects requested $2.1 million in the 4% tax credits that come along with tax-exempt bonds. These projects also applied for $7.3 million in state tax credits. As of press time, CTCAC has yet to make awards for the first round. The deadline for the second round is sometime in June, with reservations to be announced in August.
The Florida Housing Finance Corp. is evaluating the 92 projects submitted under its 2006 universal application cycle, which reserves tax credits, multifamily mortgage revenue bonds and State Apartment Incentive Loans.
Of these projects, 72 requested a total of $110.5 million in tax credits. Florida Housing will reserve $33 million in tax credits for the winning projects in August.
The Illinois Housing Development Authority had about 35 applications requesting $28 million in federal credits in the first round. About $9.5 million in reservations was approved. In the second round, the authority received 40 applications asking for more than $30 million in federal LIHTCs. About $10 million is available in the round to allocate.
The first round under the 2007 QAP is scheduled to close Dec. 4, 2006.
The Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development pledged $71.2 million in state resources to build 709 new apartments, of which 650 will be affordable to low- and moderate-income families.
Approximately $46.5 million will be generated from federal tax credit equity, $3.2 million from state tax credits, and $21.5 million from the Housing Stabilization Fund, Facilities Consolidation Fund, HOME program and the Housing Innovations Fund.
In the 2006 round, 10 applicants requested $4.4 million in tax credits from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. The state has $3.7 million in tax credit authority this year. The project applications total 371 units of housing, of which 340 would be tax credit units. Reservations will be made May 20.
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has three projects totaling 173 units competing in its spring 2006 round. They applied for $1.1 million in tax credits. OHCS will reserve approximately $6.9 million in tax credits in 2006.
A total of 141 applicants are vying for the $42 million in tax credits the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) will reserve in 2006. Together, they are requesting nearly $101.7 million in tax credits. They total 13,662 units, of which 13,460 would be tax credit units.
TDHCA will make its awards in late July and August.
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) is choosing from among 43 applicants the recipients of its $11.7 million in 2006 tax credit authority. They requested nearly $17.9 million in tax credits for their projects, which total 709 units of housing. All of these units would be tax credit units. At press time, WSHFC had not announced when it will make the awards.
In April, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) reserved tax credits for 31 out of 58 applicants in its 2006 round. These winning projects requested $9.5 million in tax credits. They have in total 1,569 units of housing, of which 1,456 will be affordable. WHEDA has $10.3 million in 2006 tax credit authority.
