Opening Doors to Opportunity: Investing in Affordable Housing

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  July 29, 2026 at 14:30  |  5:06  |  Morgan Stanley
Speakers
Emily Thomas — Reporter, The Block

Summary

Emily Thomas, Head of Investing with Impact, discusses the U.S. housing affordability gap as a long-term investment theme. She outlines opportunities across public market fixed income, private real assets, and private credit that can generate diversification, stable cash flows, and tax-efficient income while addressing the housing shortage.

  • U.S. faces a structural shortage of 5 million homes with over 75% of listings unaffordable for typical households.
  • The median first-time homebuyer age rose from 33 to 40 in five years, delaying wealth building.
  • Public market strategies include municipal bonds, agency MBS, and other fixed income financing affordable housing.
  • Private market strategies include real assets (acquiring/developing affordable properties) and private credit (construction/rehab loans).
  • These investments can provide diversification, stable cash flows, and tax-efficient income.
  • The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit has supported over 90% of new affordable housing in recent decades.
  • Asset managers are creating mechanisms for renters to share in property value, such as Enterprise's Wealth Creation Fund.
  • Stable housing strengthens communities, supports economic mobility, and helps build generational wealth.
Ideas
Emily Thomas Reporter, The Block 1:08
Structural housing shortage creates diverse investment opportunities.
The U.S. faces a long-term structural housing shortage of 5 million homes, with over 75% of listed homes unaffordable for typical households. This affordability gap creates a sustained investment theme across public and private markets. Public market strategies such as municipal bonds, agency mortgage-backed securities, and other fixed income instruments that finance affordable housing can offer portfolio diversification, stable cash flows, and tax-efficient income. Private market real assets (acquiring, developing, renovating affordable housing) and private credit (construction and rehabilitation loans) provide direct exposure to the supply-demand imbalance and similar portfolio benefits.
Municipal bonds (affordable housing finance) MBB Other fixed income (affordable housing finance) Private credit (construction loans for affordable housing) Private real assets (affordable housing properties) MED
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This Morgan Stanley video, published July 29, 2026, features Emily Thomas discussing Municipal bonds (affordable housing finance), MBB, Other fixed income (affordable housing finance), Private credit (construction loans for affordable housing), Private real assets (affordable housing properties). 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Emily Thomas  · Tickers: Municipal bonds (affordable housing finance), MBB, Other fixed income (affordable housing finance), Private credit (construction loans for affordable housing), Private real assets (affordable housing properties)