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National Council of Affordable Housing Market Analysts

Created to provide a peer network among real estate market analysts who focus part of their practice on affordable housing properties, the National Council of Affordable Housing Market Analysts (NCAHMA) is a membership organization devoted to education, information, and resource sharing. The Council works to increase awareness of benefits and value of properly conducted market analyses. The Council presents opportunities for market analysts to discuss current issues, network and gain state-of-the-art information. In this spirit, NCAHMA, under the leadership of its executive committee, formally adopted and released the following products, all of which are available at www.housingonline.com

Market Study Terminology

A set of uniform definitions of key terms commonly used in market studies for proposed affordable rental housing projects, particularly developments utilizing the federal low-income housing tax credit. Click to download

Model Content Standards for Market Studies for Rental Housing

A set of recommendations on the specific types of information, data, analysis, and conclusions that should be contained or addressed in a market study for an affordable rental housing project. Click to download

Market Study Index

Intended to help the reader of a market study find specific information quickly, this checklist provides a list of the specific individual component areas of information that the Model Content Standards says should be provided in a market study, with a space where the analyst can insert the page number of where each component is addressed in the study. Click to download.  Email Thom Amdur at tamdur@housingonline.com for an Excel version of the Index.

Market Study Certification

Signed by the analyst, who is a NCAHMA member and prepared the market study, the statement will certify that the analyst has no financial interest in the project and that the market study has been prepared in conformance with NCAHMA’s Market Study Terminology and Model Content Standards (and, in areas where it does not conform, the reasons for non-conformance).

Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice

The National Council of Affordable Housing Analysts (NCAHMA) was founded in recognition of the public need for competent, unbiased advice, professional guidance, and sound judgment concerning real estate matters relating to the affordable housing market. The chief aim of NCAHMA is to maintain the public trust in the professional work conducted by its members The Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Practice were developed with this in mind. In this document we address the following topics: Honesty & Integrity, Confidentiality, Independence & Objectivity, Competency and Professionalism.

White Papers & Research

NCAHMA's member committees have adopted or are working on the following white papers, which are also available at www.housingonline.com.

White Paper for the Analysis of Age and Income Restricted Properties  

Based on the underlying assumption that market analysis for a senior oriented rental community will be different than a general occupancy rental community, this white paper identifies a series of factors that should be considered when determining demand for age restricted properties. View full text

Factors to Consider in Market Analysis of a Preservation Property

In an effort to preserve Section 8 and Section 236 properties as affordable housing rentals, many non-profit and for profit developers are using tax credit equity to renovate the properties.  This paper explores a range of factors to be considered in market analysis of preservation properties and recommends best practices for market analysis. View full text

Recommended Practices for Analyzing Turnover

The rate that tenants move from one unit to another affects the length of time a project needs to achieve full occupancy. It also influences a project’s annual revenues and operating expenses.  This paper identifies factors to be considered, highlights red flags and recommends best practices for analyzing turnover. View full text

Demand and Capture Rate Methodology

An estimate of demand is a measure of the number of income-qualified households with the propensity to move to the subject property. Demand estimates can vary significantly based on the components used and the variables applied to measure propensity to move. The components of demand are often based on the goal of the report's end-user. The goal of NCAHMA's demand model is to provide a base estimate of income-qualified renter households. Refinements to this demand model can be made to address a more discrete target population on a case-by-case basis. The intention of this demand model is to provide a consistent methodology for comparison purposes. View full text

Calculating Market Rent

A market analysis for income properties, that is that includes rental units, requires an estimate of market rent. Depending on the purpose of the study, it could be an average market rent for all units in a defined market area, a weighted average market rent for all units, or for various unit types, ie., studios, one or two bedrooms, etc. View full text

Selecting Comparable Properties

Comparable properties are used for several purposes within a market study. They are used to help evaluate the market, they are used to evaluate the subject’s position within a market, and they are used to determine market rents. The more similar the comparable properties are to the proposed property, the more reliable the conclusions that may be drawn. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concepts involved in selecting comparable properties, and to identify some of the ways comparable properties are used in a study. View full text

Determining Market Area

The definition of a market area sets the context and tone of the entire market study. While a somewhat subjective judgment, a market area’s size and density has a profound impact on an analysis in terms of understanding demographic trends, demand estimates and the competitive environment. A myriad of factors should be considered in order to ensure the most accurate market area possible. A detailed narration should advise the reader how a market area was determined. Documentation of boundaries such as Census data, commuting patterns, neighborhood boundaries, jurisdictional divisions, school districts, social service area boundaries, and anecdotal information obtained during a field visit should be included in this narration. The narrative should explicitly describe what relevant factors led to the market area definition. View Full Text

Best Practices for Rural Market Studies

Several important differences between rural and urban market studies include market area definitions, evaluation of comparables, and consideration of demand. On the surface, it seems like defining a rural market area might be purely a matter of opinion, but well-established analytic tools are available to assist market analysts. Evaluating comparables, understanding how the proposal would fit into the market, and understanding what the demand calculations really mean are more a matter of experience.  View Full Text

Recommended Practices for Determining Demand

The National Council of Affordable Housing Market Analysts (NCAHMA) has separate definitions of overall market demand and project specific demand Market demand is the total number of households in a defined market area that would potentially move into any new or renovated housing units. Market demand is not project specific and covers all renter households and income levels. Components of demand vary and can include household growth; turnover, substandard dwelling units, rent over-burdened households, and demolished housing units. 

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