【Bloomberg】Covid-19 Is Killing Affordable Housing, Just as It’s Needed Most

Typically, June 30 is the biggest day for affordable housing deals in New York City. It’s the end of the fiscal year, so developers race to close deals to get funding approval and get started building, says Rafael Cestero, president and chief executive officer of the New York-based Community Preservation Corporation. One of the nation’s largest financial backers of affordable housing, the nonprofit he leads has a $3.5 billion portfolio of active construction loans and mortgages. 

But this year, Cestero says, no deals closed that day — something he’s never seen in his 30 years in the business. 

Like many in the housing world, Cestero is concerned about the wave of evictions that could be coming, and what might happen if Congress can’t provide additional support or extend enhanced unemployment benefits. But he’s also afraid of a longer-term threat: Affordable housing production and upkeep could be hamstrung for a generation. “We may have a different crisis,” he says. 

READ MORE