September 1, 2017 | by Michael Wilt
Categories: Affordable Housing, Housing Matters
More socially-conscious investors are using their money to make a meaningful difference in causes they believe in through "impact investing," and this wave of investment could play a pivotal role in how affordable housing is financed. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) defines impact investments as ones that "are made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return."
Impact investors expect a return on their money, but ultimately they measure success by meeting performance benchmarks related to social objectives they want to achieve. Impact investing is a recent trend, but GIIN's 2017 investor survey reports that invested funds already total $116 billion, up from $77 billion in 2015, and a portion of that is being made in affordable housing.
A recent UrbanLand article highlights two such investments. The Housing Partnership Equity Trust (HPET) preserves affordable market rate multifamily properties in high opportunity areas, and the Urban Strategy America Fund provides capital to build new mixed-income developments that provide affordable workforce housing.
In Texas, a fund called Affordable Central Texas (ACT) launched this year with a stated goal of significantly impacting "the 48,000 unit supply gap of housing affordable to Austin’s working and creative class." Similar to HPET, the fund will preserve affordable market rate apartments in high opportunity, transit rich areas that target households at 60% to 120% Median Family Income.
Texas Housing Impact Fund
At TSAHC, we created the Texas Housing Impact Fund to provide financing for both single family and multifamily developments that create opportunities, healthier environments, and a higher quality of life for low and moderate income families. Click here to find out how you can invest in our Texas Housing Impact Fund.
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