More than 19 million households across the country are cost-burdened, and 11 million of those are spending more than 50% of their income on housing, according to Freddie Mac.
As more and more Americans struggle to find affordable housing, Freddie Mac and Enterprise Community Investment have partnered to address this growing crisis.
Freddie Mac announced today it has closed its first Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Fund, marking Freddie’s re-entry into the LIHTC market.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Fund is the first for the government-sponsored enterprise in nearly a decade, according to Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable Sales and Investments Vice President David Leopold.
The fund will provide up to $100 million in targeted investments, focusing on the creation and preservation of affordable homes nationwide.
Freddie said it intends to invest in areas and transactions that have been underserved over the past decade, including rural communities, developments that provide health care and job training to residents and more.
Freddie cited Enterprise’s long history of affordable housing investment as the reason why it partnered with the nonprofit firm. Since 1982, Enterprise has invested $12.8 billion in LIHTC equity, financing more than 150,000 homes.
“This transaction with Enterprise is the first of many investments that will provide highly targeted affordable housing to some of the most underserved communities in the country,” Leopold stated.
Enterprise President and CEO Charlie Werhane said this fund restarts a crucial partnership for producing well-designed, affordable homes.
Notably, the fund has already financed an $8.2 million investment in a property located in Summit County, Colorado, a rural area approximately 75 miles outside of Denver.
The property, Wintergreen West, will provide 40 apartment homes for residents making between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income.
According to Freddie Mac, the units will range from one to three bedrooms. "Currently, it is difficult for low- and moderate-income residents to find affordable homes in the area, and short-term rentals have exacerbated the challenge," Freddie Mac noted. The new construction will be part of a larger, mixed-income community.
“We look forward to working with Freddie Mac to provide homes that create opportunity for low- and moderate-income people in diverse, thriving communities,” Werhane concluded.
