Cost Containment - Rental Development

The Cost of Affordable Housing Development in Oregon
The cost of new affordable housing has been a topic of intense scrutiny recently as the need for affordable housing across Oregon continues to significantly outpace the current system’s ability to deliver additional units. Many people have questioned why costs for publicly subsidized affordable projects are as high as they are, and whether there are ways to significantly reduce the cost of new affordable housing...
New Mexico Affordable Housing Cost Study
Keeping costs down for affordable rental projects is of national concern and, in particular, for the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program (the deepest rental subsidy program available). In an effort to better understand cost drivers MFA commissioned a study with Novogradac & Company LLP to compare New Mexico’s results with five other southwest states. This August 1, 2014 study, which can be downloaded below, reviews costs for new construction of 9% LIHTC projects from 2006 to 2013.
Release of the 2014 California Affordable Housing Cost Study
In 2014 four California state agencies prepared a study to analyze factors that influence the cost of building multi-family affordable housing. They also tried to compare affordable projects to market rate projects. It appears that costs are similar (within 4% of each other). However, page 45 of the study states: “Given the very small number of projects for which we have data, any conclusions about cost differences between affordable and market rate projects would be anecdotal at best.”