Dallas-based Elizabeth Property Group acquired six affordable housing properties in Texas for a total of 1,444 units, its largest acquisition to date.
The all-female-owned firm focuses on affordable housing acquisitions, acquiring apartments in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Beaumont, Huntsville, Blaine College Station and Wichita Falls, according to media reports. Elizabeth Properties works with Southern Fund Management, a mezzanine lender that services real estate projects in emerging low- and middle-income communities, according to its website.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. All units will continue to be affordable through 2042 and 2043, the release said. The developments have an occupancy rate of 94 percent and are located in low- or moderate-income areas with an average poverty rate of 36 percent, the release said. Tenants must earn less than 60 percent of the area’s median income to qualify for affordable housing.
Specific properties acquired include: Willow Green in Houston, Woodglen Park in Dallas, Pine Club in Beaumont, Ridgewood West in Huntsville, Saddlewood Club in Blaine and Tealwood place in Wichita. Elizabeth Property Group plans to undertake major maintenance and renovation projects with each property it acquires.
“This is an opportunity to address affordability issues or sustain affordability issues at scale across multiple markets,” said Tisha Vaidya, co-founder of Elizabeth Property Group. real deal. “We’ve been doing a lot of transactions in different markets, mostly single properties. So it’s really going to affect more families than we’re used to.”
Vaidya said the company was founded in 2020 with a mission to grow and sustain affordable housing opportunities, but there are real benefits to investing in the industry from a tenant and leasing perspective.
“It’s a very sticky tenant base. You don’t see a lot of turnover from market rate deals,” Vaidya said. “If you can create an environment in a community with good housing, good service, good management and a good environment, people stay for a long time. I think that’s what makes affordable housing really unique.”
Each acquired property was developed and subsidized with the Low Income Tax Credit, a federal subsidy that funds low-income housing. It allows investors to claim a tax credit on their federal income tax return for building affordable housing. Allegations of fraud and abuse of low-income tax credits have emerged in recent years.
Southern Fund Management has made 22 investments totaling $96 million in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas . The company has invested in 5,000 units, 80 percent of which are considered affordable housing.
The Dallas City Council approved a new affordable housing plan in April focused on closing the racial gap. Targeting investment retreat areas with poor infrastructure, insufficient affordable housing, and communities affected by segregation, the plan calls for increased production of for-sale and rental housing designed for low- and moderate-income residents. Though the new policy doesn’t include any specific plans for getting the funding, nor does it include budget or production targets.
