Industry Voices

How Affordable Housing Investors Can Benefit From Property Tax Programs

by Lynn Peisner August 8, 2025

By Max Grossman Many cities across the U.S. are grappling with two persistent challenges: a lack of affordable housing and high property taxes. While these issues may seem separate, some policymakers have implemented programs that can address both at the same time. Chicago’s affordable housing supply is short by approximately 120,000 homes and 240,000 rental units, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Additionally, nearly one-third of Illinois residents commit more than 30 percent of their income toward housing, the most of any state in the Midwest. The city is also …

August 8, 2025

Active Adult Development Industry Voices Leasing & Marketing

Is Active Adult The Antidote to Market-Rate Malaise?

by Lynn Peisner August 1, 2025

By Stephen Wright While it was a great InterFace Seattle Multifamily conference in mid-March, I left shaking my head at all the headwinds developers and operators face in that market sector. Why is it taking so long to realize the answer lies in the active adult market sector? Wait, you say. I don’t want to get involved in healthcare and all the amenities an aging population needs. You don’t have to. This market niche is the answer to many of the problems you face and will face for years to …

August 1, 2025

Affordable Housing Architecture & Design California Development Industry Voices

ADUs in Multifamily Development Are an Old Idea with New Potential

by Lynn Peisner July 23, 2025

By Brandi Campbell Wood Forward-thinking multifamily developers are rediscovering a housing type that predates modern zoning: accessory dwelling units (ADUs). An ADU is defined as a smaller, independent residential unit located on the same lot as a detached single-family home, according to the American Planning Association, a nonprofit organization that supports the field of urban and regional planning. What was once commonplace in early 20th-century developments — garden cottages, cluster housing and secondary units within larger properties — is experiencing a renaissance driven by new policy opportunities and compelling financial …

July 23, 2025

Affordable Housing Development Industry Voices Operations

How Accessibility Compliance Gives Affordable Housing Investors a Competitive Advantage

by Lynn Peisner July 18, 2025

By Mark English In the affordable housing industry, compliance has often been treated as an obligatory cost of doing business — a box to check, a hurdle to clear. Yet in today’s environment, marked by heightened regulatory scrutiny, increased tenant awareness of their rights and a fiercely competitive landscape for funding and partnerships, this mindset is dangerously outdated. For developers, owners and managers of affordable housing, denial of compliance’s strategic value can carry enormous costs: legal liability, reputation damage, financial penalties and missed opportunities to distinguish one’s organization as a …

July 18, 2025

Industry Voices Operations

What Every Owner Should Know about Accessibility Compliance

by Lynn Peisner June 13, 2025

By Mike Stewart In recent years, multifamily property owners have faced a rising number of lawsuits from “serial plaintiffs” or “testers” alleging noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA) regulations. These legal challenges can impose substantial financial burdens on multifamily owners, encompassing not only costs associated with rectifying legitimate violations, but also the cost to defend a lawsuit and potentially pay fines, damages and the plaintiff’s legal fees. The ADA and the FHA are landmark pieces of legislation that prohibit discrimination based on disability. …

June 13, 2025

Finance Industry Voices Leasing & Marketing Operations

Rethinking Amenities During Budget Season: Smarter Spending for Long-Term Resident Satisfaction

by Lynn Peisner June 9, 2025

— By Alex LaFlam — Budget season, whenever it occurs in your organization, can bring out the red pens. Faced with rising operational costs and pressure to meet aggressive financial goals, multifamily operators often begin the budgeting process by scanning for line items to trim. Unfortunately, that impulse frequently puts resident-facing services — especially amenities — on the chopping block. It’s easy to see why: Amenities are sometimes seen as “nice-to-haves,” expendable in the face of economic pressure. But that mindset can carry long-term costs. In competitive or stabilized markets, …

June 9, 2025

Build-to-Rent Development Industry Voices

Investors, Take Note of Opportunities in BTR’s Potential to Meet ‘Missing Middle’ Demand

by Lynn Peisner May 28, 2025

By Chris Cordes Build-to-rent (BTR) developments continue to set new records each year, with 90,000 units under construction in 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors. Maintaining momentum with 2023 levels, this growth rate represents a 50 percent increase in BTR housing starts since 2021 and relates directly to housing affordability challenges and the rising costs of homeownership. BTR offers renters, particularly aging Americans approaching retirement, housing options with homeownership-like benefits without the maintenance responsibilities and accompanying increasingly prohibitive costs. These benefits include more living space, privacy, yard access …

May 28, 2025

Finance Industry Voices Investment Sales

Investment Opportunities Look Different in the Tariff Era

by Lynn Peisner May 21, 2025

The recent surge of U.S. tariffs has added a new dimension to an already complex environment for multifamily development. As the CEO of Atlas, I’m watching these shifts closely, not just through a macroeconomic lens, but also from the practical standpoint of what they mean for builders, owners and investors in multifamily housing. The conversation isn’t just about geopolitics or trade imbalances anymore — it’s about how tariffs intersect with affordability, construction cycles, capital costs and the evolving supply-demand dynamic in the U.S. rental market. Three questions keep coming up …

May 21, 2025

Affordable Housing Finance Industry Voices

How Affordable Housing Developers Are Closing Budget Gaps to Get Deals Done

by Lynn Peisner May 21, 2025

By Sam Adams The need for affordable housing in the United States has never been greater, but supply is not keeping up with demand. High costs of construction and insurance, as well as elevated interest rates, make it difficult to get affordable housing development deals completed in the current environment. As a result, developers and finance leaders are looking for innovative strategies to close budget gaps and get deals done. Financial market conditions are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. However, with the right knowledge, persistence and a little …

May 21, 2025

Affordable Housing Development Industry Voices

Government Support Alone Won’t Help Affordable Housing Developers

by Channing Hamilton April 21, 2025

By Bryan Dickson, senior managing director of affordable originations, NewPoint Real Estate Capital Federal funding for affordable housing faces an uncertain future. The ongoing push for government efficiency has put long-standing affordable housing programs under scrutiny. Some programs under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are on the chopping block. The Green Mortgage Insurance Premium Reduction and Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, as well as the Department of the Treasury’s Capital Magnet Fund, may not be available to developers for much longer. These funding concerns compound an already …

April 21, 2025

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