National Equity Fund Buys 165-Asset Affordable Portfolio
The properties are located in 32 states and Washington, D.C.
National Equity Fund has acquired National Affordable Housing Trust’s property and fund management portfolio. The deal will support the long-term affordability of more than 165 properties across 29 funds, representing more than 15,000 homes across the U.S.
The price was not disclosed but officials at Chicago-based NEF told Multi-Housing News that the assets are valued at about $2 billion, bringing NEF’s assets under management to about $26 billion. The properties are located in 32 states and Washington, D.C.
NAHT has been active in the affordable housing sector for more than 40 years, investing more than $2 billion in equity to create and preserve more than 27,000 homes for seniors and families nationwide. In 2013, NAHT became an affiliate of Stewards for Affordable Housing for the Future.
As NAHT’s owner, SAHF agreed to a joint venture seven years later with the Low Income Investment Fund, a nonprofit financial institution with $900 million in assets under management. LIFF’s capital investment has played an important role in expanding and preserving affordable housing over the past six years.
Growth strategies
Earlier this year, NEF announced it attained $1.95 billion in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity in 2025, a company record. NEF raised and deployed $2.5 billion across 130 affordable housing investments last year. That activity brought NEF’s total production since its inception to nearly $30 billion, supporting the creation or preservation of 274,000 affordable homes.
Late last year, NEF and NeighborWorks Capital, a national nonprofit community development financial institution, closed the inaugural NeighborWorks Capital Equity Fund. Launched in April 2024, the fund raised $110.4 million to support seven developments, creating 517 units of affordable housing. An additional 19 projects with more than 1,300 units were placed into other NEF funds.
The fund was supported through equity investments from five partners, including Capital One, First Citizens Bank, Northern Trust, Wells Fargo, and Wintrust.
Recent investments
In September, NEF completed its largest investment when it teamed with Guardian Real Estate Services on a $444 million deal to preserve a 2,740-unit portfolio located in the Portland, Ore., and Albuquerque, N.M., metros. Portland-based Guardian will be the assets’ owner and operator.
NEF said at the time that the closing represented one of the largest single preservation transactions in the affordable housing industry. The portfolio comprises LIHTC properties, 93 percent of which will remain affordable. The properties include Ventana Ranch, a 288-unit affordable housing community in Albuquerque.
NEF was already active in the Portland market at the time of last fall’s investment with Guardian. In November 2024, the organization provided financing for BRIDGE Housing Corp. to acquire Bethany Meadows, a 340-unit affordable community in Beaverton, Ore. NEF and Morgan Stanley provided a $250 million revolving credit facility, which helped BRIDGE move quickly to purchase the property. The acquisition preserved the units as long-term, low-income housing.
More recently, NEF provided a $49.6 million loan toward Community Solutions’ purchase of a 297-unit community in Charlotte, N.C., from Arlington Properties. The property was completed in 2023 and consists of four four-story buildings across a 10-acre site.
