The Comparative Cross-Sectional Study on the Affordable Housing Finance Policy for Low-Income Households: Lessons from NYC and Seoul
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The Comparative Cross-sectional Study on the Affordable Housing Finance Policy for low-income households: Lessons from NYC and Seoul A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Urban Planning by Ju Hwa Jung May 2020 © 2020 Ju Hwa Jung All rights reserved ABSTRACT The comparative cross-sectional study on the affordable housing finance policy for low-income households: Lessons from NYC and Seoul By Ju Hwa Jung Most of the cities around the globe have suffered from serious housing affordability problems, and the situation becomes worse as economic inequality and social disparity widen. Based on this concern, this paper compares the affordable housing policy of two representative global cities: New York City and Seoul. As the first comprehensive cross-sectional study on the two cities, this paper primarily encapsulates financial tools for the enhancement of housing affordability. Granted their contrasting market contexts and policy strategies, this paper tries to derive some important implications and policy recommendations for each city from the intensive comparisons of demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, housing policy history, and contemporary representative housing support programs including LIHTC and public housing. As a comparative methodology, the author utilizes his self-developed policy comparison model, coined as the SMART model, whose five major components are Subject class, target Market, policy Approach, Regulation intensity, and policy Tools. This paper portrays that New York’s affordable housing finance policy primarily puts weight on indirect subsidy including tax incentives and public-private partnerships as a conduit while specifically targeting low-income households via mixed-income developments. Instead, Seoul more centers on the broader range of classes such as young people and newlyweds via direct support programs including public housing and subsidized loans for rent, mainly utilizing $163.3 billion National Housing & Urban Fund. In conclusion, this paper makes some policy suggestions for each city to fill the gap of housing inequality through the lens of urban planners, policymakers, and financial experts. Keywords: Affordable housing; Housing finance; Comparative research; New York City; Seoul; LIHTC; Jeonse Thesis Supervisor: Professor Lance Freeman of Urban Planning in GSAPP Readers: Adjunct Associate Professor Richard Froehlich & Adjunct Associate Professor Tom Wright in GSAPP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My experience at Columbia has been nothing short of amazing. Over the last 2 years at Columbia, I confronted a lot of challenges and wonders at the same time. The prestigious Ivy League school has fulfilled my unfathomable intellectual needs as well as offering diverse experiences with splendid people both on campus and outside of Morningside Heights. I am also thankful for the guidance and support of the Columbia University community and GSAPP. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my thesis advisor and academic navigator, Prof. Lance Freeman, who broadened my scope of understanding in the affordable housing and community development arena. I also have to appreciate my two thesis readers: Prof. Richard Froehlich and Prof. Tom Wright, both of whom, as industry experts, gave me substantial reviews and insightful comments, which helped strengthen my arguments, as well as enriching the contents and preserving the balance. I would love to remember all the names whom I met at the Columbia community. I feel grateful to all my interviewees for the paper as well, in particular, Prof. Adam Weinstein (incumbent CEO of Phipps houses), Mr. Mathew Wambua (former Commissioner of NYC HPD), and Ms. Shola Olatoye (former CEO of NYCHA) as well as my beloved colleagues and friends in South Korea. Last, but not least, I am truly thankful to my beloved family who always championed my decisions and stood beside me whenever I needed them. Without their support, I could not be here. I always missed, am missing, and will be missing them forever. Also, I feel grateful to the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF), a housing finance agency in South Korea, for allowing me to study abroad and supporting my advanced research at Columbia University. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................... ⅰ LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................ ⅱ CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND APPROACH ............ 4 CHAPTER 3. THE COMPARISONS OF TWO CITIES .................. 8 A. Demographic Backgrounds ..................................................................................................8 B. Housing Affordability ........................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 4. AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY IN NYC ......... 26 A. History, Backgrounds, and Orientation ..............................................................................26 B. Principal Affordable Housing Programs ............................................................................32 CHAPTER 5. AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY IN SEOUL .... 75 A. History, Backgrounds, and Orientation ..............................................................................75 B. Principal Affordable Housing Programs ............................................................................79 CHAPTER 6. POLICY IMPLICATIONS ....................................... 102 A. Cross-sectional Comparison between two cities..............................................................102 B. Lessons and Suggestions for NYC .................................................................................. 119 C. Lessons and Suggestions for Seoul ..................................................................................138 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................... 153 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................159 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................164 LIST OF ACRONYMS AMI: Area Medium Income HOPE VI: Home Opportunities for People EverywhereⅥ HUD: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development K-HAI: Korea-Housing Affordability Index KHFC (HF): Korea Housing Finance Corporation K-HAI: Korea-Housing Affordability Index LH: Korea Land and Housing Corporation LIHTC: Low Income Housing Tax Credit LMIC: low- and Middle- Income Counties MIH: Mandatory Inclusionary Housing MBR: Maximum Base Rent MOLIT: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport NHUF: National Housing and Urban Fund NYCHA: New York City Housing Authority NYC HDC: NYC Housing Development Corporation NYC HPD: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development PACT: Permanent Affordability Commitment Together PAB: Private Activity Bond PHA: Public Housing Authority PHAS: Public Housing Assessment System PIR: Price to Income Ratio QAP: Qualified Allocation Plan RAD: Rent Assistance Demonstration RGB: Rent Guidelines Board RIR: Rent Income Ratio i LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES Figure 1: Home owner-occupancy rate in Seoul................................................................................12 Figure 2: Seoul’s rental housing unit inventory.................................................................................13 Figure 3: BOK Key base rate and household loan rate. ...................................................................14 Figure 4: Multi-units housing sales price index..............................................................................15 Figure 5: The increase of multi- homeowners in Korea.....................................................................15 Figure 6: PIR change in Seoul........................................................................................................16 Figure 7: K-Housing Affordability Index (K-HAI) ..........................................................................17 Figure 8: Owner-occupancy ratio change in NYC...................................................................... 18 Figure 9: NYC Homeowners by race/ethnicity in 2017............................................................... 19 Figure 10: Residential home prices change in NYC.................................................................... 20 Figure 11: Number of residential properties purchased by investors.................................................. 21 Figure 12: Housing supply trend in NYC.........................................................................................22 Figure 13: Median rent and income change (renters) in NYC..................................................... 24 Figure 14: Rent burden in NYC................................................................................................. 24 Figure 15: Public housing in NYC. .............................................................................................. 25 Figure 16: Low-income households by housing type........................................................................ 33 Figure 17: The rise of rent stabilization..........................................................................................