Right now, landlords in Asheville, North Carolina, like many others in the Southeast, are dealing with abundant apartment supply. But that doesn’t mean long-term investors don’t see long-term upside in the market.
Nonprofit multifamily affordable housing investment manager National Equity Fund continued to build its sizable housing portfolio with the acquisition of properties and a fund management portfolio from St. Louis Equity Fund Inc., according to a July 22 press release.
The 32 properties, totaling nearly 2,000 affordable homes, are in 13 funds and located throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region. The assets, which represent over $200 million in equity, are occupied by an array of resident populations including low-income individuals and families, seniors and people with disabilities.
The acquisition of SLEFI's portfolio allows the rapidly growing NEF to build a presence in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
“The St. Louis metropolitan area is a region in which we have not traditionally had a large market share,” NEF President and CEO Matt Reilein said in the release. “Expanding our geographic footprint helps strengthen partnerships and builds dynamic, new relationships that will ultimately allow us to evolve our investment platform.”
In the release, NEF said its acquisition of SLEFI's portfolio will safeguard investors and sponsors in the St. Louis region despite market volatility and the nation's intensifying affordable housing shortage. The firm didn’t reply to questions from Multifamily Dive as of press time.
Founded in 1988 to syndicate low-income housing tax credits, SLEFI has raised more than $500 million through 155 partnerships to help create more than 5,000 homes in Missouri and Illinois, per the release. It has been seeking ways to stabilize its portfolio over the last few years.
“After playing a vital role in the affordable housing industry for nearly four decades, our Board reviewed our mission and affirmed our highest priority is to support quality housing of vulnerable St. Louisans,” said Jill Nowak, president and CEO at St. Louis Equity Fund, per the release. “The Board determined that a partnership with an organization with greater capacity would be necessary to meet that mission, and NEF's interest in our property portfolio was enthusiastically embraced.”
The St. Louis acquisition continues NEF’s strong growth spurt, after announcing $1.95 billion in LIHTC equity earlier this year, surpassing its previous high set in 2024. It has nearly $30 billion of production, representing approximately 274,000 new or preserved affordable homes, since being founded in 1987.
In May, NEF acquired National Affordable Housing Trust’s more than 165 properties, encompassing 15,000 affordable homes nationwide, across 29 funds and NAHT’s fund management portfolio.
NEF hasn’t been the only active affordable housing player making sizable deals over the past couple of years.
In December 2024, New York City-headquartered affordable housing preservation company Hudson Valley Property Group acquired a 22-property portfolio comprising 4,768 units across the western United States from Spokane, Washington-based Inland Group.
In November 2024, New York City- and Los Angeles-based Standard Communities acquired a 100% affordable housing portfolio of over 6,000 apartment homes in more than 60 communities in four states. With the purchase of the portfolio, valued at over $1 billion, Standard entered Arizona, Colorado and Texas and grew its California portfolio to nearly 11,000 apartments.
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