No. While all Section 8 housing is affordable housing, not all affordable housing is Section 8 housing. There are many types of affordable housing and affordable housing subsidy and finance programs. Affordable housing may be naturally occurring, created through partnerships or financing tools (such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, bond financing, ad valorem tax exemption, etc.), or subsidized through local, state, or federal programs such as Section 8, HOME, CDBG, and others. Simply put, affordable housing means just that - housing that is affordable.

No. While HUD/FHA-insured loans can be used to finance affordable housing (and are often attractive financing options due to lower interest and MIP rates), these loans can also be used to finance other types of development - including market rate housing.

HUD does provide funding for a number of affordable housing subsidy programs - each with their own rules and requirements - but these subsidy programs are wholly different from and unrelated to HUD/FHA-insured loans such as a 221(d)(4) or 223(f).

Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) are a financing tool used to create affordable housing in accordance with IRC Section 42. Each state is allocated federal funding on an annual basis to award tax credits to qualifying affordable housing projects and developers. Once awarded, the tax credits are then sold or syndicated to investors, which generates equity for the development, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of affordable housing projects.

The LIHTC program is the most important resource for creating affordable housing in the United States today. Created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the LIHTC program gives state and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of approximately $8 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households.

Since its establishment, the LIHTC program has helped finance more than 3.44 million affordable rental housing units for low-income households across the nation.

While Aedis Urban does not currently have any active projects outside of Texas, we are always looking for opportunities to expand our reach and bring quality affordable housing to new markets.