Episode 4: LIHTC: The gift card that builds affordable Housing
Episode 4 of Defining Affordable is out now.
This episode brings us to present day and focuses on LIHTC—the program that finances the majority of affordable housing construction in the U.S.
We walk through how it works, how developers actually fund these projects, and what AMI (area median income) means in practice.
We also spend time on a key tension:
housing can be considered “affordable” as a program, but not actually be affordable for the person living in it.
But we also want to hear from you.
We talked about how affordability is defined as spending no more than 30% of your income on housing.
👉 Take your monthly housing cost (rent + utilities) and divide it by your gross monthly income.
👉 Multiply by 100.
Are you under or over 30%?
You don’t need to share details—just curious where people are landing.
Share your thoughts—we’d love to incorporate your perspectives into future conversations.