Morgan Stanley Patners with NEF for Affordable Housing

Morgan Stanley is committing $110 million to promote community development by financing construction of affordable rental housing. In partnership with National Equity Fund (NEF)—a national nonprofit and a leading LIHTC syndicator—Morgan Stanley is capitalizing a $50 million LIHTC investment fund and providing $60 million to finance several hundred million dollars of additional NEF housing fund investments. Altogether, Morgan Stanley’s commitment is expected to underpin 3,300 homes for low-income families, seniors, and special needs residents, and help to create 6,500 jobs.

“Communities that literally have been starved for LIHTC equity over the last year and seen no new affordable housing activity will be able to move some of their projects forward, and that’s huge,” said Joseph Hagan, NEF president and ceo.

The Morgan Stanley investment also leverages federal affordable housing stimulus dollars—the Tax Credit Assistance Plan and the Section 1602 LIHTC exchange program—that were created by the American Recovery and Investment Act.

Over the last two decades, the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program has been one of the most prolific tools for affordable housing development in the country, in recent years growing to $9 billion in annual private investment activity. During the recent economic crisis, however, the market has severely contracted, leaving many developers, projects, and communities with a source of affordable housing capital.