New York-based IPA 100 firm CohnReznick (FY24 net revenue of $1.15 billion) has released its 2025 Affordable Housing Credit Study, the latest edition in the firm’s biennial analysis of the performance of properties financed with federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). The study examines data from more than 30,000 units across the U.S. with operating and performance metrics current through year-end 2024.
The study found that LIHTC properties continue to demonstrate strong performance despite economic pressures from inflation and elevated interest rates. Key findings include:
- The national LIHTC portfolio continues to show strong occupancy, maintaining a median physical occupancy of 97% in 2024. Most properties remain well-leased, with only a small fraction below 90% physical occupancy, typically due to isolated, property-specific factors.
- LIHTC investments remain exceptionally strong. The cumulative foreclosure rate is just under 0.5%, with no new foreclosures reported by our data providers since 2021.
- Negative macro-economic conditions, including high interest rates and inflationary pricing, drove about a quarter of stabilized properties to operate at below breakeven in 2024. Some markets continued to experience rent collection and operating expense pressures, although these trends are being actively managed with proven strategies and financial safeguards.
“The findings from our 2025 Affordable Housing Credit Study reaffirmed the growing need for affordable housing across the country and the continued resiliency of LIHTC properties,” said Cindy Fang, Partner and Tax Credit Investment Services Leader. “While the economic aftershocks of the pandemic created vulnerabilities, with nearly 26% of the LIHTC properties nationwide reporting operating deficits in 2024, most properties benefited from layered financial safeguards designed to mitigate foreclosure risk. For institutional investors, LIHTC properties continued to demonstrate resilience and reliability, underscored by a historically low cumulative foreclosure rate of just half of one percent.”
Beth Mullen, affordable housing industry leader at CohnReznick, noted the significance of recent legislative developments. “Affordable housing continues to prove its resilience. The enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act marks a pivotal milestone with the largest expansion of the Housing Credit in 25 years,” she said. “We encourage industry stakeholders to use this study as a resource for advocacy, benchmarking and best practices.”
To complement the study, CohnReznick also released the Affordable Housing Credit Tool, providing interactive access to current data. Combined, the study and tool support benchmarking, trend analysis and portfolio evaluation for developers, investors and policymakers.
The study represents CohnReznick’s eleventh in a long-standing series and includes participation from 29 LIHTC syndicators and three institutional direct investors, covering more than 36,400 housing tax credit properties.
