Search Results
Journal Article
Low Income Housing Tax Credits: strategies for year 15
As the Low Income Housing Tax Credit 15-year compliance period begins to expire on affordable housing projects across the country, the Wyndham Financial Group?s William S. Hettinger examines how organizations are addressing this issue and offers strategies for success.
Journal Article
Preserving small rental buildings
Smart investment in small two- to four-unit buildings?for renewed owner occupancy or nonprofit ownership and management?stabilizes neighborhoods and provides affordable housing.
Journal Article
Challenges of the small rental property sector
Most rental housing in America is found in small multifamily buildings and this sector provides most of the options for low- and moderate-income (LMI) renters. With a growing wave of investors buying distressed properties in LMI neighborhoods, there are concerns about the ability of investors to properly maintain their investments. The author explores the small multifamily sector and suggests ways that policymakers can move beyond code enforcement and provide a combination of carrots and sticks to incentivize and increase the presence of ?good actors."
Working Paper
Cyclical and sectoral transitions in the U.S. housing market
Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this paper examines the flow of U.S. households within and between two distinct segments of the housing market ? renter-occupied properties and owner-occupied properties. The paper provides relevant empirical moments for microfounded models of the housing sector. In particular, net flows in the housing market are substantially smaller than the gross flows, as is the case in the literature on labor market flows. Housing market turnover also exhibits substantial heterogeneity in household moving rates, the long-run moving trends, and the ...
Journal Article
Buy a home or rent? A better way to choose
Knowing whether buying a home is a better financial move for a family than renting requires a consideration of costs and options that people often neglect to factor in. One aspect of the calculation that is almost always overlooked is uncertainty--the fact that no matter how good one's estimates of the future are, the future can turn out differently than projected. Incorporating uncertainty into the rent-or-buy calculation gives potential homebuyers information that can improve their decisions. While incorporating uncertainty is complicated, it's made easier with the Cleveland Fed's online ...
Journal Article
Low-income housing tax credits in Texas: achievements and challenges
As the LIHTC program faces the biggest challenges of its nearly 25-year history, it's imperative to look holistically at the evolution and distribution patterns of this housing production program. This issue provides a program overview, a current market-condition analysis and an update on recent regulatory changes.
Working Paper
The portfolios and wealth of low-income homeowners and renters: findings from an evaluation of Self-Help Ventures Fund’s Community Advantage Program
The distribution of wealth in the United States is more highly skewed than the distribution of income. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of homeowners and renters. Those who own their homes typically have about 20 to 40 times more net wealth than those who rent. ; Although home equity plays a role in this growing disparity, it does not fully explain why renters hold fewer assets than homeowners. Even excluding home equity, renters are more than twice as likely to be asset-poor as are homeowners. Renters also hold a smaller range of assets than owners, suggesting that homeownership ...
Working Paper
The effects of the real estate bust on renter perceptions of homeownership
After almost a decade of strong price appreciation, the housing market fell into a steep decline in 2007. By 2008, foreclosure filings on owner-occupied homes were surpassing record levels. Due to the housing downturn, fewer renters may aspire to own a home, which could have lasting implications for neighborhoods and household asset building. This study analyzes the impact of the housing downturn on renters? intent to purchase a home, their perceptions of the risks and benefits of homeownership, and their interest in information and advice concerning homeownership. ; Based on a survey of 400 ...
Working Paper
A trend and variance decomposition of the rent-price ratio in housing markets
We use the dynamic Gordon-growth model to decompose the rent-price ratio for owner-occupied housing in the U.S., four Census regions, and twenty-three metropolitan areas into three components: The expected present value of real rental growth, real interest rates, and future housing premia. We use these components to decompose the trend and variance in rent-price ratios for 1975-2005, for an early sub-sample (1975-1996), and for the recent housing boom (1997-2005). We have three main findings. First, variation in expected future real rents accounts for a small share of variation in our sample ...
