Berkadia Expands LIHTC Platform With Brokerage Firm Acquisition

Berkadia has expanded its LIHTC platform with the acquisition of Idaho-based brokerage firm LIHTC Advisors. LIHTC Advisors is a full-service firm for apartment investors specializing in the low-income housing market. Principals of the brokerage company Jeff Irish and Brandon Grisham have joined Berkadia to lead the LIHTC platform. The duo have completed more than $2 billion in affordable housing deals throughout the country.

The acquisition of LIHTC Advisors is part of Berkadia’s plan to expand its affordable housing practice, which the firm calls a “critical space.” Prior to the recession, the affordable housing and LIHTC markets were among the most attractive investment markets. Following the pandemic, demand for affordable housing has only been exacerbated by job loss and economic distress. A recent report from Novogradac reviewed the historical performance of LIHTC from 2009 to 2019. The report found that two-bedroom LIHTC properties serving residents at or below 60% of the median area income maintained a 95% occupancy. In addition, LIHTC properties were not impacted significantly by the 2008 financial crisis. In early 2008, LIHTC rents actually increased 1.5%. This research has echoed other data on affordable housing product, which typically remains stable during periods of economic distress, particularly compared to market rate units.

Berkadia has been committed to growing its affordable housing program. In 2019, David Leopold joined the firm as SVP and head of Berkadia Affordable, which includes overseeing Berkadia Affordable’s Mortgage Banking, Investment Sales and recently integrated Tax Credit Syndication teams. Irish and Grisham will now bolster that team, bringing a combined 19 years of experience to the company. Already, they expect to exceed their 2019 transaction volumes, despite the pandemic.

That is good news for the market. At the start of the recession, some experts predicted LIHTC investment would stall amid broad uncertainty and a Main Street recession that impacted lower income workers. Some investors paused deals to wait through the initial disruption, while others stepped back to wait for a pricing correction. By May and June, most of the fear around investing in affordable housing had subsided and investors reentered the market.

Berkadia isn’t alone in seeing opportunity in the affordable housing space. Alliant Capital recently closed Fund 103, a $65 million low-income housing tax credit fund. The fund will support the development of 650 LIHTC units in markets that have been the most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, including Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. Like Berkadia’s Irish and Grisham, who expect to see an increase in investment volumes, Alliant Capital also saw continued demand from investors in the fund.