Freddie Mac Multifamily: Recent Episodes
Freddie Mac Multifamily
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The multifamily market continues to hold up relatively well considering the 40-year peak of new supply. Mike Donnelly from the Multifamily Research team and author of the 2025 Multifamily Outlook report returns to the show to discuss fundamentals and some surprising discoveries.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Broad economic performance
Chapter 2: 03:58 – Supply and demand
Chapter 3: 09:22 – Rent market analyses
Chapter 4: 15:31 – Cap rates and valuations
Chapter 5: 16:55 – Forecasted origination volume
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2024 was a year of many milestones and new topics explored on the show. Tune into this New Year's Eve special where the cohosts look back on the year and tell us how they ended up in a hot air balloon!
As always, thank you to our listeners across the world. We wish you a Happy New Year!
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Incorporating sustainable practices at properties can vary from company to company, but all sustainable strategies have one important goal in common: positively impacting people working or living at a property. In this episode, our co-hosts sit down with Hannah Tillmann, vice president of sustainability at Berkshire Residential Investments, to discuss the firm's sustainable initiatives through the BerkshireTHRIVE program.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Overview of the BerkshireTHRIVE program
Chapter 2: 09:27 – How to implement sustainable features
Chapter 3: 20:17 – Value of greener properties for residents
Chapter 4: 24:51 – Use and challenges with data collection
Chapter 5: 31:29 – Off-site renewables strategy
Chapter 6: 38:30 – Structuring of solar projects
Chapter 7: 41:44 – Opportunities in sustainable finance
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Upzoning gained traction a few years ago in some markets around the country, but what impact has it made? Christina Stacy, principal research associate at the Urban Institute, joined the show to look back on what's been tried, what's happened and the lessons that can be learned.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – History of land use and zoning
Chapter 2: 12:09 – Does density lead to increased affordability?
Chapter 3: 17:57 – Research methodology
Chapter 4: 22:01 – Challenges and ways to continue studying land use reform
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Impact investing is making a difference in communities and the lives of renters — and at IMPACT Community Capital, impact is what drives their business. Michael Lohmeier, CEO at IMPACT Community Capital, shares the unique ways the company is structuring and creating products with an impact and sustainable lens.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Impact investing for good risk-adjusted return
Chapter 2: 07:27 – Considering geography and property types
Chapter 3: 12:30 – The intersection of affordability and climate risk
Chapter 4: 16:36 – Positively impacting tenants
Chapter 5: 19:40 – Liquidity with capital markets
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We're celebrating 100 episodes! The Multifamily Podcast was established in 2019 to bring together industry experts to discuss trends, innovations and the financing behind them. Our cohosts look back on the memorable guests and insightful conversations — and give us a peek into what they do when they're not on the show.
Thank you to our listeners — we look forward to sharing more varied episodes (and 80s movie quotes?) to your feed.
Preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, also known as NOAH, is an idea that really gained attention in the middle of the last decade and continued to spread from there. Mark Ethridge, managing principal at Ascent Housing — one of our 2024 Impact Sponsors — shares how the firm is leading the way in this space in Charlotte, North Carolina to try to address housing affordability challenges.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Housing affordability in Charlotte
Chapter 2: 07:37 – Innovative financing and lessons learned
Chapter 3: 16:41 – Examples of funded projects
Chapter 4: 22:12 – A wraparound service platform
Chapter 5: 31:45 – Growing the NOAH preservation space
Community-based care is a big theme in health care today — and Nestidd’s operating model is proving it can have positive impacts for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In this episode, Andrew Parker, CEO and co-founder of Nestidd, shares how the company started supporting this vulnerable population and where we still need to close the gap.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – The founding of Nestidd
Chapter 2: 07:12 – A community-based care model
Chapter 3: 11:07 – Partnering with care agencies
Chapter 4: 16:50 – Challenges and economics
Chapter 5: 19:52 – How do we close the gap?
Sustainability is catching on — and it’s becoming prevalent in many financial strategies in commercial real estate. To lift the curtain on how these strategies are being employed at a financial institution, we invited Wells Fargo’s Kelly Souza, managing director in the Sustainable Finance & Advisory Group, onto the show.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Types of sustainable finance strategies
Chapter 2: 08:10 – Trends in commercial real estate
Chapter 3: 13:34 – Sustainability in action
Chapter 4: 18:35 – Opportunities for efficiency/resiliency
Chapter 5: 22:21 – Wells Fargo's Top 10 Sustainability Trends
Have we turned the corner yet on the market? Mike Donnelly, part of the Multifamily Research team and author of the 2024 Midyear Multifamily Outlook report joins our co-hosts to help answer this question. Together, they break down how the economy performed in the past six months, how high supply is impacting markets across the country and the forecasted origination for the year.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Economic performance in the past six months
Chapter 2: 03:07 – The multifamily market and "Corey Aber's paradox"
Chapter 3: 08:23 – Metro-level multifamily housing analysis
Chapter 4: 12:14 – How the debt market is faring
More and more, we're seeing a growing trend in the combination of sustainability and resident-centered housing practices in multifamily housing. Tina Tagliaferri from FCP, one of our 2024 Impact Sponsor organizations, shares how they're achieving this combination by partnering with service providers and collaborating with property management teams to create a better resident experience.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – FCP's approach to sustainability and resident-centered housing
Chapter 2: 07:50 – Getting started with service providers
Chapter 3: 09:28 – Providing a resident service and measuring its success
Chapter 4: 13:36 – Challenges and ways to overcome them
Chapter 5: 16:44 – Sustainable resident-centered housing practices and climate risk
Chapter 6: 23:35 – Tips on getting started
It's that time of year again: We welcome back the Ivory Innovations team to talk about the sixth Ivory Prize in Housing Affordability, an annual award recognizing ambitious, feasible, and scalable solutions to housing affordability. The team shares the interesting trends with this year's finalists, areas for opportunities and, of course, the 2024 winners.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Themes in this year's finalists
Chapter 2: 8:07 – Areas of opportunities
Chapter 3: 11:16 – Construction and Design finalists
Chapter 4: 15:14 – Finance finalists
Chapter 5: 22:27 – Policy and Regulatory Reform finalists
Chapter 6: 29:00 – And the winners are...
Multifamily business models have evolved to focus on both resident opportunities and climate responsibility — to make a difference in both the community and for residents. In this episode, Thomas Stanchak, director of sustainability at Stoneweg US, dives into how they've incorporated sustainable practices into their business model.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Overview of Stoneweg and implementing a sustainability strategy
Chapter 2: 10:03 – Cathedral Thinking for building performance plans
Chapter 3: 19:37 – Applying patient commitment to physical resiliency
Chapter 4: 24:42 – Technology that support sustainable practices
Chapter 5: 30:57 – Resident sentiments to sustainability
America’s Rental Housing 2024 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has found that although high volumes of new supply has come online, more renter households are cost burdened than ever before, and a record number of people are experiencing homelessness. We welcome back Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, senior research associate and lead author, to discuss what these findings mean for the nation's renters and multifamily industry.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Overview of the key findings
Chapter 2: 12:27 – Composition of today's renters
Chapter 3: 16:28 – The pressing issue of climate change
Chapter 4: 19:26 – Evolving rental assistance and homelessness
In this episode, we explore innovations to the affordable housing application and qualification process with Christine Wendell, co-founder and CEO of Pronto Housing. Pronto Housing is a software start-up with a mission to make the affordable housing process more accessible, intuitive and efficient for residents.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Navigating the affordable housing landscape
Chapter 2: 06:56 – Streamlining access and reducing application fatigue
Chapter 3: 09:58 – The missing middle: Bridging gaps in affordable housing
Chapter 4: 14:57 – Transitioning from a paper-driven process
In this episode, we explore the human impact of multifamily development with Jamar Adams, founder of Essence Development. Essence is a social impact firm dedicated to bringing hope to affordable, workforce and mixed-income housing communities.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Connections between property, market, and people
Chapter 2: 06:00 – Building communities with the community
Chapter 3: 10:27 – Healthcare, healthy food and hope
Chapter 4: 27:17 – The human impact of design
New York City is one of the most complex metro areas — so our hosts invited Matthew Murphy, executive director at the NYU Furman Center, to shed some light on this market and its unique housing challenges.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Composition of housing stock in New York City
Chapter 2: 06:09 – Evolution of NYC housing legislature
Chapter 3: 15:02 – Impact of new rental supply coming to the market
Chapter 4: 34:27 – Preservation of existing housing stock
The conversation around energy efficiency has evolved to electrification and decarbonization. To demystify those processes, Corey Aber and Luba Kim-Reynolds invited Lisa Brylowski, senior vice president of ESG Management at Brookfield Real Estate to, to walk through what it means to make assets greener in the commercial real estate space and for multifamily properties.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Decarbonization and net zero 101
Chapter 2: 11:18 – Determining emissions at a property
Chapter 3: 21:18 – Green Certifications and embodied carbon
Chapter 4: 29:42 – Balancing decarbonization and affordable housing needs
Chapter 5: 32:02 – Advice for owner/operators on getting started
Our Multifamily Podcast team is snowed in at Pine Tree, Vermont! While they wait for facilities to come dig them out, the co-hosts discuss their resolutions, highlights from the year (including reaching 100K listeners) and more.
Thank you to all our listeners across the U.S. and around the world. Happy New Year!
Economic conditions appear to be moderating as we head into 2024, and expectations are for the multifamily market to see positive but weaker growth in the year ahead. Corey Aber and Sara Hoffmann invite Michael Donnelly, Multifamily research manager and co-author of the 2024 Multifamily Outlook report, to discuss the market trends and forecasts for 2024.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Economic big picture
Chapter 2: 06:50 – Pressure of increased supply
Chapter 3: 09:05 – Metro-level analysis
Chapter 4: 11:46 – The next generation of renters
Chapter 5: 13:39 – Cap rates and valuations
Chapter 6: 18:39 – Volume forecast
Chapter 7: 21:20 – Will the multifamily market have a turbulent descent?
In this episode, Corey Aber and Luba Kim-Reynolds welcome Claire Kramer-Mills from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the show. They dive into her team’s research on decarbonization of affordable housing in the state and New York City, discussing the impacts of legislation on affordable properties and the opportunities that exist to begin the electrification process.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Introduction: The future of housing in New York
Chapter 2: 06:19 – Overview of NY affordable housing stock
Chapter 3: 13:21 – Unique impact of decarbonization on small properties
Chapter 4: 19:10 – Programs to help borrowers finance electrification
Chapter 5: 27:00 – A balancing act
Chapter 6: 36:07 – How do we start decarbonizing affordable housing in NY?
Renters, particularly those of low income, are facing significant affordability challenges. In this episode, Corey Aber and Sara Hoffmann welcome back Kevin Burke, senior on the Multifamily Research team and lead author on the Rental Affordability Curve paper. Kevin walks through how the Rental Affordability Curve estimates what percentage of the renter population likely faces affordability challenges and how severe the challenges are within specific income bands.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Industry methods of measuring affordability versus the Rental Affordability Curve
Chapter 2: 06:26 – What does the Rental Affordability Curve look like?
Chapter 3: 10:09 – Rent and income distribution near the parity line and at a national level
Chapter 4: 16:07 – Comparing metro to metro
Chapter 5: 22:13 – Percentiles translated into AMI
Chapter 6: 26:06 – A surprising finding from the report
Resident-owned communities (ROCs) are a unique option in the affordable housing market for underserved populations, particularly in rural and non-metro areas. On this episode, Corey Aber and Sara Hoffmann are joined by Paul Bradley, founder of ROC USA, and Deborah Winiewicz, community leader at Halifax Mobile Home Estates Association, a ROC in south Boston. Together, they discuss the history of manufactured housing communities (MHCs), how MHCs and ROCs operate, and the federal or state legislation that facilitates the existence of these communities.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – The origin story of MHCs and ROCs
Chapter 2: 09:39 – The formation of Halifax Mobile Home Estates
Chapter 3: 14:08 – Services provided by ROC USA
Chapter 4: 16:25 – Benefits of ROCs
Chapter 5: 20:55 – Variability in landscape
Chapter 6: 27:42 – Shared equity vs. limited equity
Chapter 7: 34:42 – Challenges and wins from a community member
At the intersection of space, debt and equity is where commercial real estate sits right now, according to Jamie Woodwell, vice president & head of Commercial Real Estate Research at the Mortgage Bankers Association. In this episode, Corey Aber and Sara Hoffmann sit down with Jamie to discuss this intersection and how recent events may be impacting the broader commercial real estate space.
Chapter 1: 00:00 – Setting the stage
Chapter 2: 03:31 – The space market (apartment, office, retail space)
Chapter 3: 11:09 – The debt market
Chapter 4: 14:16 – The equity market
Chapter 5: 17:02 – CRE fundamentals
Chapter 6: 31:38 – Climate risk impacts
Chapter 7: 37:09 – Multifamily volume expectations
In this episode, Corey Aber digs into the Midyear Outlook with Sara Hoffmann, research director and a lead author on the report. They discuss how the multifamily market is stabilizing, forecasted performance and the factors that are slowing multifamily origination volume.
- Chapter 1: 0:00 – Long-term trends vs. today
- Chapter 2: 7:09 – A return to seasonal patterns?
- Chapter 3: 10:28 – Rates go up, economy slows down
- Chapter 4: 14:43 – Rent performance across markets
- Chapter 5: 19:04 – Supply and demand
- Chapter 6: 21:05 – Top 10 and bottom 10 markets
- Chapter 7: 23:43 – Volume expectations
In this episode, Corey and Steve celebrate five years of Ivory Innovations
with Kent Colton, advisory board member, and Abby Ivory, managing director. The Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability recognizes ambitious, feasible and scalable solutions to housing affordability. Kent and Abby share the common themes with this year's finalists and reveal the 2023 winners.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Prevalent themes in this year's finalists
Chapter 2: 6:00 – Replicable models in Financial Innovation
Chapter 3: 10:40 – Public Policy and Regulatory Reform, a growing category
Chapter 4: 21:10 – Sustainability in Construction and Design
Chapter 5: 28:38 – And the winners are...
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos welcome back Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater to discuss the latest research in his area, including homeowner migration trends, affordability in the market and other timely topics.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – First-time homebuyer and affordability
Chapter 2: 7:44 – Homeowner migration patterns
Chapter 3: 15:05 – Digging into the data for a purer signal of affordability
Chapter 4: 21:40 – Trends in single-family home prices
Chapter 5: 25:16 – Rate impacts on the market
Chapter 6: 27:35 – Climate risk considerations on migration
Chapter 7: 33:57 – Research in the works
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos are joined with Bob Simpson from the Multifamily Impact Council, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to establishing a framework of impact principles and reporting guidelines for the multifamily industry in the United States.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Background on Multifamily Impact Council
Chapter 2: 9:18 – Multifamily Housing Affordability and Impact
Chapter 3: 13:03 –Housing and Economic Stability
Chapter 4: 23:35 – ESG Investments and Impact Investors
Chapter 5: 31:25 – Changes in Impact Investing
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos are joined by Jim Nguyen and Ana Gonzalez from The Alliance, a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunity for all in the Greater Houston area. They discuss their mission and the unique factors of being in Houston that have shaped the programs they offer.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Background on The Alliance
Chapter 2: 7:00 – Unique stressors in Houston
Chapter 3: 12:38 – Transportation in a sprawling city
Chapter 4: 15:33 – Landlord-tenant mediation and eviction diversion
Chapter 5: 25:39 – Financial counseling for tenants
Chapter 6: 35:48 – What's on the horizon?
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos welcome Antonio Marquez, founder and managing partner of Comunidad Partners — the winner of our inaugural Impact Sponsor Award in 2021. Antonio shares how they've made a difference in tenants' lives and what industry frameworks being developed to grow at scale.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – How Comunidad Partners was founded
Chapter 2: 6:52 – A resident-focused philosophy
Chapter 3: 12:40 – Making an impact through intentional growth
Chapter 4: 17:34 – Working through resident challenges
Chapter 5: 25:07 – Multifamily Impact Council
Things didn't go quite as planned! Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos record their year-end episode from the roadside on their way to New York City to watch the ball drop. They share some of their favorite episodes from 2022 and discover just how far the housing thread extends into our every day.Thank you to all our listeners across the U.S. and around the world. Happy New Year!
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos are joined by Sara Hoffmann, director in the Freddie Mac Multifamily Research & Modeling team and a lead author of the annual Outlook report. Their conversation covers topics on multifamily market fundamentals and current trends likely to persist into the beginning of 2023.Chapter 1: 0:00 – Overview of the broader economyChapter 2: 7:52 – Impact of rates on the housing marketChapter 3: 13:52 – Cost to own vs. cost to rentChapter 4: 16:39 – Rotisserie chicken prices are dramatically up!Chapter 5: 21:11 – Top 10 and bottom 10 marketsChapter 6: 24:38 – Cap rates, multifamily property prices and originations
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos chat with Jason Pugh from the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) about DEI efforts within the urban planning and architecture industry.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Introducing NOMA, a nonprofit minority architecture organization Chapter 2: 11:00 – Jason Pugh's background Chapter 3: 23:41 – Community engagement strategy Chapter 4: 31:00 – Minority architecture professional organizations
In this episode, Corey Aber and Steve Guggenmos chat with Peter Slaugh, managing partner and founder of OpenPath Investments, and Alejandra Montano, director of impact from UV Residential, about rental communities and how to engage tenants with their four-pillar framework.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Introducing the four-pillar framework that connects individuals and the broader community Chapter 2: 10:00 – Community partnerships Chapter 3: 20:41 – Urban Village program impact
In this episode, Corey and Steve are joined again by Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, senior research associate at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Their conversation covers topics like rental deserts, residual income burdens and what potential impacts COVID-19 policy have had on renters.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Current affordability landscape and rental deserts overview Chapter 2: 8:39 – Residual income burdens Chapter 3: 16:40 – Impacts of COVID-19 policy on renters
Solving the housing shortage involves understanding complex, local housing policies and how they affect supply. Fortunately, resources like Up For Growth’s Charlotte Housing Policy and Affordability Calculator, help piece together some of these details. In this episode, we’re excited to welcome back Mike Kingsella, Chief Executive Officer at Up for Growth. Mike – and Up for Growth – have done a great deal to bring attention to housing affordability, policy and the market imbalance.
In this episode, Steve and Corey discuss housing that is designed for individuals with disabilities, and how accessible and inclusive housing have evolved over time. They are joined by Reverend Luis Cortes at Esperanza – a faith-based nonprofit organization driven to strengthen Hispanic communities through education, economic development, and advocacy.
Chapter 1: 0:00 – Background on Esperanza Chapter 2: 10:05 – Gentrification and Affordable Housing Chapter 3: 20:00 – START Program in Philadelphia Chapter 4: 31:15 – Bank Counseling and Mediation
In this episode, Corey and Steve are joined by Sara Hoffmann, director in the Freddie Mac Multifamily Research & Modeling team and a lead author of the annual Midyear Outlook report. Their conversation covers topics from multifamily market fundamentals, rising interest rates to inflation, and how these changing macrofactors are flowing into the multifamily market.
In this episode, Steve and Corey discuss housing that is designed for individuals with disabilities, and how accessible and inclusive housing has evolved over time. They are joined by Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing at the Kelsey – an organization whose mission is to pioneer disability-forward housing solutions that open doors to more homes and opportunities for everyone.
America’s housing affordability challenges need innovative solutions now more than ever. In this episode, Corey and Steve welcome Kent Colton and Abby Ivory and discuss this year’s finalists for the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability, a national award that recognizes ambitious, feasible and scalable solutions to housing affordability. Kent is Chair of the Ivory Prize’s Advisory Board and Abby is the Managing Director of Ivory Innovations.
The America’s Rental Housing Report is published every two years by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. It’s a comprehensive report that summarizes market conditions and provides insights on a full range of issues facing rental housing. In this episode, Corey and Steve are joined by Alex Hermann, Senior Research Analyst at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. Together, they discuss the state of the rental housing market over the past two years and where it has left 44 million rental households across the country.
Recent research shows that at least 68,000 new affordable units must be constructed on Tribal lands to eliminate overcrowding, replace inadequate units and address the current housing need. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by three people who have significant expertise on this subject: Elizabeth Glynn, the CEO of Travois, Alexandria Murnan the Director of Affordable Housing at Travois, and John Galfione, Director and Investment Manager at RBC Community Investments. Together, they discuss the history of housing in Indian Areas and what’s being done to close the affordable housing gap.
In this episode, hosts Corey and Steve welcome back Sara Hoffmann, director in the Freddie Mac Multifamily Research & Modeling team. Together, they discuss the recently released 2022 Multifamily Outlook research report, its key findings, plus changes to macroeconomics and how these all impact the outlook for the multifamily housing market.
50,000! That’s how many listens we’ve had on the podcast since the series launched in April 2019. This is an amazing milestone and we are humbled and deeply appreciative of all our listeners.
In this episode, Steve and Corey take a look back at a few of their favorite episodes from 2021. They also celebrate our listeners across the U.S., around the world, and give a special shout out to some of our most loyal listeners.
A consistent theme in discussions on closing the affordable housing gap is zoning and land use policy. In this episode, Corey and Steve talk with Leila Banijamali, the CEO of Symbium, a new company that has taken on the challenge of making zoning accessible to the general public through new technologies. Symbium has already put their tools to use in working with the City of San Francisco and the City of San Mateo, and they were recently recognized by both the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability and Facebook’s Housing Innovation Fund.
In this episode, Corey and Steve take a deep dive into millennials housing patterns with an academic researcher, Hyojung Lee. Hyojung is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech University with an interest in housing demographics and urban economics. Together, they discuss how this data compares to other generations and what we can expect in the future.
Philanthropy is a key player in addressing some of today’s most important housing related challenges. In this episode, Corey and Steve are joined by Eileen Fitzgerald, Head of Housing Affordability Philanthropy at Wells Fargo, to talk through the fundamental roles of philanthropy in affordable housing and what we can learn from their involvement.
The Housing Choice Voucher program — often referred to as Section 8 — is at the intersection of housing policy and regulation, and it impacts the lives of numerous individuals and families. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Eva Rosen, Assistant Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and the author of the book The Voucher Promise: Section 8 and the Fate of an American Neighborhood.
The pandemic has had a profound impact on both single and multifamily housing and we’ve seen large shifts in market fundamentals, property prices and where people are choosing to live. In this episode, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater is back to talk about macro and microeconomic trends in the housing market and some of the implications for rental housing.
The events of the past 16 months have drawn focus on racial inequities in the housing market. In this episode, Corey and Steve take an in-depth look at these disparities with Jacob Faber, associate professor at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Together, they discuss redlining, intentional segregation and other driving factors that contributed to today’s housing inequalities, as well as the considerations that are being made to address them.
Freddie Mac Multifamily’s 2021 Midyear Outlook report brings together data and insights into current conditions in the multifamily rental market. Sara Hoffmann, director in the Multifamily Research & Modeling team at Freddie Mac, leads the work on this report. She is back by popular demand and joins Steve and Corey to talk through economic uncertainty this past year, how this has impacted the multifamily debt market, the strong rebound in 2021, and projections for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.
We’re excited to welcome back Michael Novogradac, managing partner of Novogradac & Company LLP. In 2019, Michael, Corey and Steve took an in-depth look at the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, from inception to today, and the role it has played in the affordable housing market. In this episode, they continue that discussion, but with a focus on recent developments and opportunities for both housing and community development.
In this episode, Corey and Steve welcome back Jenny Schuetz, Senior Fellow within the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Jenny is an expert on urban economics and recently released a report titled “What the US can learn from rental housing markets across the globe.” This report gathers institutional knowledge from real estate scholars who have lived and worked in these areas and gives some great insights into the way six different markets operate around the globe.
Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company, is helping build the future of multifamily developments. In this episode, Corey and Steve are joined by Violet Whitney, Senior Product Manager and Ivory Wang, Computational Designer. Violet and Ivory are two of the masterminds behind Sidewalk Labs new product, Delve – a real estate artificial intelligence tool that uses generative design and machine learning to enhance development projects.
Third times a charm – we’re thrilled to welcome back Kent Colton to the podcast. Kent is president of the Colton Housing Group and senior research fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. He is also chairman of the advisory board for the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability. The Ivory Prize winners exemplify innovation and solutions to housing affordability. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at what is going on at a grassroots level, emerging themes from 2020 and recap this year’s Ivory Prize winners.
No state has an adequate supply of affordable rental housing for the lowest income renters. In this episode, Corey and Steve focus on two topics we've covered a lot recently – the shortage of affordable housing and pandemic impacts – but with the fresh perspective of two lead researchers from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Together they discuss the affordability gap and how recent renter assistance programs are being implemented around the country.
In the east side of Hollywood lives a community of immigrants who have struggled with social and economic inequalities for over 60 years. In this episode, Corey and Steve talk with Chancee Martorell, the founder and executive director of Los Angeles’ Thai Community Development Center. Chancee oversees a wide range of initiatives, including human rights advocacy, affordable housing, healthcare access, small business promotion, social enterprises and neighborhood empowerment. Together, they discuss the story of Thai Town and some of the challenges and opportunities for LA’s Thai community.
In this episode, we look at the intersection of several topics in housing today — generational change, housing preference change, lifestyle and livelihood change, as well as racial inequities. To help us pull all of these themes together, we welcome back Chris Herbert, managing director at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in the Department of Urban Planning and Design, and a member of the Freddie Mac board.
In this episode, host Corey Aber looks at recent trends in commercial real estate with Jeff Berenbaum, director and co-head of CMBS Strategy and Analysis at Citi, and our own Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Research & Modeling. Together, Jeff and Steve share their perspectives on market fundamentals, housing affordability and how 2020 events are impacting 2021 forecasts.
Jeff Berenbaum's disclosures -https://ir.citi.com/0kVm8eZJm8EMK7JNmzH7JNJNJHYxtTLuCKgKrQD0IUztP4jM%2FxcthfiBDnQ0L5DJ04X56XG0by5YdtvuVgrVfVejjp5u13ypawAkI4voLdo%3D
How can we use big data to improve upward mobility in America? In this episode, Steve and Corey talk with David Williams, Director of Policy Outreach at Opportunity Insights – a research and public policy lab based at Harvard University that is dedicated to identifying economic and social mobility opportunities. Together they discuss recent initiatives that help identify barriers to economic opportunity and empower people to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes.
Real estate is a pervasive sector, yet many high-school students can’t see a pathway to ownership and investing. In this episode, Steve and Corey talk with Cedric Bobo, CEO and Co-Founder of Project Destined – a real estate focused social impact vehicle that trains urban youth to be real estate owners and stakeholders. Together they discuss wealth building, education, property management and other skills that can have a profound community impact.
Half of the rental units in our country are outside of the institutional space, and these individual landlords have historically had limited access to tools and resources to manage their rental properties. In this episode, our hosts are joined by Ryan Coon, Co-Founder and CEO of Avail, an online platform for small, independent landlords and their tenants. Listen in as he shares what this universe of rentals looks like and how owners and renters are feeling the impacts of the pandemic.
In this episode, we take a virtual walk down Main Street. Or, more precisely, main streets: why they’re so important to communities, why they may be at risk and what can be done about it. Corey and Steve are joined by someone who wrote the book on Main Street — literally: Dr. Mindy Thompson Fullilove. Dr. Fullilove is a social psychiatrist and author of author of eight books, including her most recent book entitled "Main Street: How a City’s Heart Connects Us All. "
Steve and Corey look back at 2020 and note a few of their favorite things including books, music, TV and movies, as well as podcasts.
Happy New Year and cheers to 2021!
The role of farmworkers in our country has a profound impact on all of our lives. In this podcast, Corey and Steve are joined by three guests with long histories in the development of farmworker housing: Marty Miller, executive director at the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing, Tony Daguanno, vice president of Originations at National Equity Fund, and Bryan Ketchum, director at Catholic Charities Housing Services. Together, they discuss the background of farmworker housing, what it takes to retain residency and build housing and forward-looking impacts.
Renter affordability remains a curious topic in the face of the pandemic. Fresh off publishing his new report, Renter Affordability Reexamined, researcher, Kevin Burke sits down with Steve and Corey to discuss some insights from the paper and discuss the city of Los Angeles’ recent efforts to address affordability. Tune in for a comparison of how things have changed, a breakdown of what’s been impacted and a couple surprisingly positive trends he’s seeing.
COVID-19 continues to have a profound impact on our lives. Understanding consumer sentiment can be a bit difficult, but fortunately, for the past few years, we’ve been conducting quarterly consumer surveys to better understand market trends. In this episode, Steve and Corey discuss these survey findings with Freddie Mac colleagues John Shipala, senior director of Strategy, Insights and Analytics, and Elizabeth Moesle-Walton, director of Market Insights.
This episode features a topic that might seem counter-intuitive, even within our industry: permanent supportive housing. Steve and Corey sit down with Cristian Ahumada, Executive Director of Clifford Beers Housing, and Debbie Burkart, National Vice President of Supportive Housing at the National Equity Fund. Together, they discuss permanent supportive housing—an intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of chronically homeless people—and the broader applications that can be gleaned from these innovations and put to use in other areas of housing.
Our recent episodes have focused on policy and innovations to address housing affordability. In this podcast, Steve and Corey focus on how these practices drive change for residents, neighborhoods and communities. They are joined by Ron Moelis, CEO and founding partner at L+M Development Partners – a leading affordable housing developer in the NYC area; Washington, D.C.; and California. Their discussion covers numerous topics ranging from gentrification, racial and social justice, mixed-use and mixed-income housing, as well as special considerations due to the pandemic.
Urban planning initiatives, such as the development of our national highway system, often have long-term effects on a community’s economic growth and equitable development. In this episode, Carlton Eley, Regional Equity Initiative Manager for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, shares his perspectives on equitable development, gentrification, and the unintended impacts of community planning.
The first half of 2020 is a tale of two economies: the pre-pandemic economy and the economy of the pandemic’s first three months in the U.S. The unprecedented nature of this crisis will undoubtedly impact the housing market, but to what extent is still being played out. In this episode, Corey interviews co-host Steve Guggenmos, and Sara Hoffmann – director in the Multifamily Research & Modeling team and lead author of Freddie Mac’s 2020 Multifamily Midyear Outlook. Together, they take a closer look at market trends, changing volumes and rental demand, and the forecast for the multifamily originations market.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t enough safe, affordable housing to meet the need, and 10+ million renters were spending more than half their income on housing. In this episode, Steve and Corey talk with Jenny Schuetz – fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and a leading voice on urban economics and housing policy. Together, they take a closer look at strategies for increasing affordable housing beyond the COVID-19 economic crisis.
Recent zoning changes in Minneapolis and Oregon highlight the importance of land-use regulations and their effect on housing affordability. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Emily Hamilton, research fellow and director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Emily’s work focuses on affordability challenges stemming from zoning and the development process, leading to a mismatch of housing stock to housing need. Together, they discuss the history of local-level land use regulation and current changes occuring throughout the country.
Addressing the affordability crisis will require innovations that extend beyond just building more inventory. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Carol Galante, the current faculty director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, the former commissioner of the FHA, and the former president and CEO of BRIDGE Housing Corporation. Carol shares her perspectives on housing innovations, the Terner Center’s Housing Lab and lessons learned from the last recession.
Housing is not just a market commodity – it’s also a basic human need. It contributes to all aspects of social, community and economic life. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Katherine McKay, senior program manager with the Financial Security Program at the Aspen Institute and lead author of the new report “Strong Foundations: Financial Security Starts with Affordable, Stable Housing.” Together, they discuss the report’s key findings, financial challenges and how society benefits when families have affordable, stable housing.
Freddie Mac Multifamily’s Green Advantage® loan program has seen tremendous growth since it’s inception. Working closely with investors, lenders and borrowers, the program supports workforce housing, contributes to building sustainable communities and encourages positive social and environmental practices. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by colleagues Amanda Nunnink and Luba Kim-Reynolds from our Investor Relations team to discuss the evolution of our green program, its benefits to tenants and the environment and some highlights from the inaugural Green Bond Impact Report.
Solving the housing shortage involves understanding complex, local housing policies and how they affect supply. Fortunately, resources like Up For Growth’s Charlotte Housing Policy and Affordability Calculator, help piece together some of these details. In this episode, we’re excited to welcome back Mike Kingsella, executive director at Up for Growth. Mike – and Up for Growth – have done a great deal to bring attention to housing affordability, policy and the market imbalance.
We’re excited to welcome back Kent Colton to the podcast! Kent is president of the Colton Housing Group and senior research fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. He is also chairman of the advisory board for the Ivory Prize for Affordable Housing. The 2020 Ivory Prize winners were announced just before this podcast and exemplify innovations and solutions to addressing housing affordability. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at some of those projects, talk about what is going on at the grassroots level and recap this year’s Ivory Prize winners.
Small properties are a critical source of affordable multifamily rentals. In this episode, Steve and Corey talk with Andrew Jakabovics, vice president for policy development at Enterprise Community Partners – a national nonprofit that focuses on housing affordability. Together they discuss challenges to preserving small multifamily units, their on-going affordability, market trends and research into this segment of the market.
10,000. That’s the number of total listens to the Freddie Mac Multifamily podcast since we released our first episode in April 2019. We’re really grateful that so many of you have tuned into the show and for all the fantastic guests this past year. And as a way of saying “thank you,” we want to share some of our fun moments that didn’t make the cut.
Times of distress, like we’re in now, highlight the importance of housing and community security. In this episode, Steve and Corey chat with Bobby Turner, founder of Turner Impact Capital – one of the nation’s leading voices in social impact investing. Together they discuss housing innovations and take a deep dive into the important topics of education and health care and their impact on housing affordability.
Live from the Freddie Mac Multifamily Optigo 2019 conference! In this episode, Steve and Corey sit down with Brad Andrus, founding partner of Bridge Investment Group, and take an in-depth look at workforce housing beyond the financing. Bridge has been innovative in finding ways to preserve affordability without public subsidies in markets where preservation is needed most. Factors like social services, child care, on-site amenities and safe communities are also key considerations in their work.
Since the Great Recession, renter income has grown at a faster pace than owner income and these higher-income households are driving rental demand. In this episode, Steve and Corey dig into the finer details of the rental housing market with Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, research associate at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and lead author of the new report “America’s Rental Housing 2020.” Together they discuss rising cost burdens, suburban growth and many other rental trends.
Housing contributes to about one-sixth of the U.S. economy through labor, construction, goods to furnish new units, as well as other indirect factors. Real estate is also a huge influencer of inflation, with the change in home prices accounting for about a third of U.S. inflation. Ultimately, the real estate market really impacts the average renter or homeowner, whether they know it or not. In this episode, Steve and Corey go macro and discuss the economy and how it ties in to the housing market with Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
$364 billion – that’s the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) estimation of the size of the multifamily market in 2019. This projection is up 6% from 2018’s record $339 billion in volume. In this episode, Steve and Corey sit down with Jamie Woodwell, vice president in the Research and Economics Group at the MBA. Together, they look back on 2019, ahead to 2020 and speculate as to where a smaller business – such as Josiah Carberry’s shop – might seek capital in the current low interest rate environment.
The millennial generation recently became the largest population cohort, surpassing the baby boomers. And the baby boomers now make up the largest seniors population cohort in US history. These two demographic changes have broad implications for both the housing market and the economy overall. In this podcast, Corey and Steve discuss these trends – as well as where the homeownership gap is most prevalent – with Jung Choi, research associate at the Urban Institute.
Is housing affordability a supply problem or an income distribution problem? And how do housing trends vary by income level? In this podcast, Corey and Steve discuss the affordability crisis with Chris Herbert, managing director at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Chris shares his extensive knowledge of the rental market and market trends, and together, the group covers a wide range of topics – supply, incomes, urban revitalization, suburban trends, generational changes and how the market is being driven by boomers and millennials.
We’ve extensively covered affordable housing challenges in our podcast series by looking at the data and talking with researchers, lenders, local experts and government entities, but there is one critical behind-the-scenes resource that brings all of this together: the lawyer. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Toger Swanson, partner at Kutak Rock LLP, a real estate and public finance law firm. Together they discuss challenges and recent initiatives to address affordability issues, all from a legal perspective.
There is a lot happening at the grassroots level to address housing affordability that many people don’t know about. In this episode, Steve and Corey sit down with Kent Colton, president of the Colton Housing Group, senior research fellow at JCHS and chairman of the advisory board for the Ivory Prize – an annual award recognizing ambitious, feasible and scalable solutions to housing affordability. The Ivory Prize awards innovators and provides material support for innovative projects. It also helps to identify and raise awareness for grassroots housing efforts. In this conversation, Kent highlights several of the 2019 award-winning projects, discusses lessons learned and then looks ahead to the 2020 awards.
In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Michael Novogradac, managing partner of Novogradac & Company LLP. Together, they take an in-depth look at the history of the low-income housing tax credit program – from its inception to today – and the role it has played in the affordable housing market. There’s a lot to this story, and it’s more relevant now than ever given the severe affordability challenges around the country.
Oregon, like many states, is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis and is undertaking many different approaches to help solve the issue. New construction, public and private investment, pilot programs for workforce housing and the LIFT program are but a few aspects of the statewide housing plan. Listen in as Steve and Corey discuss Oregon’s urban and rural affordability issues with Margaret Salazar, director at Oregon Housing and Community Services.
Small multifamily properties are an important part of the affordable rental market. They are often owned by individuals or smaller entities and are operated differently than the larger multifamily properties that many of us think of when we hear the words “multifamily” or “apartment.” In this episode, Steve and Corey talk with Meg McElgunn, co-head of SBL Production and Catherine Evans, vice president of SBL Underwriting, and take an in-depth look at some of its unique characteristics through the lens of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Small Balance Loan program.
Nationally, the wage required to afford a two-bedroom apartment is $22.96 – much higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. For low-wage workers, this means that housing is either out of reach, or takes a disproportionate amount of their income. In this episode, Corey and Steve sit down with Andrew Aurand, vice president for Research at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition and lead author of their annual Out of Reach report. Together, they discuss key findings of the report, take an in-depth look at wages and how that translates to the number of hours of work required to afford housing in each state, and reflect on how affordable housing markets have changed over the past 30 years.
Over 40 million people live in California – 10 million in Los Angeles county alone. The state also has many rural areas with their own housing challenges and lack of infrastructure. This mix of urban and rural, as well as the sheer size of the state, requires unique innovations to address its affordability crisis. In this podcast, Steve and Corey talk with Mary Kaiser, the President of California Community Reinvestment Corporation, about community development and lending in the state of California.
Recent Freddie Mac Multifamily research highlights that rents are growing faster than income and that fast-growing metros are losing affordable units at a much higher pace than the nation. In this episode, Steve and Corey sit down with Kevin Burke, lead author of the recent report Metro Affordability – Inescapable, and discuss the correlation between population growth and affordability.
Natural disasters occur throughout the year and across the country – from wildfires and earthquakes to flash floods and extreme snowstorms. In this podcast, Steve and Corey sit down with Gina Thompson, senior director of Asset Management and Operations at Freddie Mac Multifamily. This team is the first to work with servicers following natural disasters to understand the impacts at the property level.
There’s been growing attention across the industry on the shortage of affordable workforce housing. To increase supply, new units will need to be constructed, but this is a complex issue. This podcast focuses on innovative construction methods such as modular and manufactured housing, and how these can help close the supply gap. Steve and Corey sit down with Andrea Ponsor and Adam Cohen from Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) and discuss their recent research.
7.3 million – that’s the number of units that the country has underproduced from 2000-2015 according to research from Up for Growth, and that supply shortage has contributed to the affordability crisis. This podcast focuses on the general shortage housing units overall as well as the shortage of affordable housing and looks at some of the challenges that make it so hard to close that supply gap.
This podcast is the third in our 2019 series focusing on Public Housing. In this episode, we review how housing relates to educational outcomes, health partnerships and employment trends, and we discuss the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration program. Steve and Corey dive into these topics with Keely Stater and Kelly McElwain from the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC).
The lack of affordable housing is prevalent throughout the country, in both rural and urban communities, and Minnesota has been at the forefront in trying to get ahead of this issue. In this podcast, hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber discuss the affordability challenges in Minnesota and some of the innovative work being done with Warren Hanson, the CEO of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund – a leading Community Development Financial Institution.
Can tax relief incent individuals and investors to benefit unrelated communities? To help answer this question, we recently released two papers that provide an overview of Opportunity Zones and their impact on the multifamily housing market. Our March report examined how Opportunity Zones will influence multifamily activity in low-income markets in the years to come and our May report examined some of the multifamily market characteristics in Opportunity Zones by leveraging our own data. In this podcast, hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber sit down with the lead author of these two papers, Kevin Burke, to discuss the findings.
Over the years, the United States has grappled with how to provide housing for those with low and extremely low incomes. Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) was created to help preserve and finance improvements to existing public housing units through both public and private investment. Listen in as hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber discuss the history and components of RAD with Tom Davis, Director of the Office of Recapitalization Program at HUD.
Each year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) assesses rental affordability in its Gap Report. This year’s findings highlight the severe shortage of affordable housing for the lowest income renters and the resulting rental burden on households, families and their quality of life. Listen in as hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber address this complicated issue with Andrew Aurand, vice president for research at NLIHC.
Manufactured housing residents often own their home but may rent the land on which it is located. States take varying approaches to addressing the hybrid rental/ownership structure in these communities. Listen in as hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber address this complicated issue with guest speakers Kathy Zelenock, partner at the law firm from Dickinson Wright. The hosts will also discuss the key findings of our 2018 report on MHCs with Carol Khalil, Agnes Kucharski and Garvin Lee – the authors of the paper.
Listen in as hosts Steve Guggenmos and Corey Aber discuss our Green Advantage® program and provide insights into cost-effective green practices for workforce housing. Guest speakers include Peter Giles from our Production & Underwriting team and Justin Thomson from Asset Management, both of whom have significant experience with our green portfolio.