The most recent December 2011 issue of ResearchWorks, the official newsletter of HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research, examined the geographic distribution of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects in 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The goal of this research was to determine whether LIHTC projects are more densely clustered than housing units are in general, and to understand the neighborhood characteristics of areas where LIHTC clusters are found. The research shows that across all 10 MSAs studied, LIHTC projects are more densely clustered than in the random housing patterns used for comparison. Within the individual MSAs studied, New York had the largest percentage (71 percent) of properties classified as clustered, Houston and Dallas had the fewest at 13 and 16 percent, respectively. In particular, this research highlights the role that federal incentives for developing in certain areas play in the clustering of LIHTC projects, and suggests that altering the incentives structure for LIHTC tax credit allocations could potentially affect where projects are built in the future.
To read the December 2011 issue of ResearchWorks, click here.
