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Lost Hills: LIHTC-Funded Affordable Housing in a Declining Population
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Lost Hills, a California community, possesses a small but significant Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing inventory. The city contains 104 affordable housing units, with 12 specifically designated as low-income units. Based on an estimated 1,025 housing units in the city, LIHTC-funded affordable housing comprises approximately 10.1% of the city's housing inventory.
Lost Hills has received $1,217,256 in project tax credits through the LIHTC program. With two projects, this equates to an average federal funding of $608,628 per project. When divided by the total number of units, it amounts to an average of $11,704 per unit in federal funding. The city holds 0.04% of California's total LIHTC funding, indicating a relatively small share of the state's affordable housing resources.
The first LIHTC project in Lost Hills, Aldea Park Apts, was completed in 2001, while the most recent project, Almond Village, was finished in 2016. This 15-year span demonstrates a sustained effort to provide affordable housing in the community. The 2010s saw the most significant development in affordable housing, with Almond Village being the largest project, contributing 63 units to the city's inventory.
The LIHTC-funded projects in Lost Hills primarily consist of three-bedroom units, with 94 out of the 104 total units falling into this category. The remaining 10 units are two-bedroom apartments. This distribution suggests a focus on accommodating families in the affordable housing stock.
Over the last decade, Lost Hills has experienced a decline in population, dropping from 3,441 in 2014 to 2,675 in 2022. Despite this decrease, the median income has shown a slight upward trend, rising from $34,733 in 2014 to $37,931 in 2022. The racial composition of the city has remained relatively stable, with Hispanic residents consistently making up 93-95% of the population throughout this period.
The completion of the Almond Village project in 2016 aligns with a period of population decline and modest income growth. This suggests that the project may have been a response to an identified need for quality, affordable housing options in the community, even as the overall population decreased.
Lost Hills's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory, while modest in scale, represents a significant portion of the city's estimated housing stock. The two projects, completed over a 15-year period, demonstrate a long-term commitment to providing affordable housing options. The focus on three-bedroom units indicates an emphasis on family-oriented housing. Despite a declining population, the continued investment in affordable housing through 2016 suggests an ongoing effort to meet the community's housing needs, particularly for its predominantly Hispanic population.
