Chicago-Based Vistria Steps Into Affordable Housing Funding Breach With $2.5B Fund-Raise

As the federal government slashes support for programs supporting affordable housing, a Chicago-based investment firm is leading on what some investors see as a prime opportunity to get into the space.

The Vistria Group announced Monday that it has netted more than $2.5B in assets under management for its real estate fund centered on affordable housing in two years.

“Institutional investors are recognizing what we've long known — high-quality affordable and workforce housing isn't just essential, it's one of the most durable and scalable asset classes in real estate,” Vistria Group Senior Partner Margaret Anadu said in a press release.

Vistria's fund launched in March 2023 and garnered a range of investors in the United States and Europe. The company has already acquired more than 7,000 units, over 80% of which are affordable.

Late last year, the firm partnered with Ethos Real Estate on a project to convert nearly 700 market-rate apartments in California into affordable housing. Local officials said it would be one of the largest conversions of its kind in state history. 

More than 2,000 units in Vistria's portfolio are formerly market-rate units that have been converted to affordable housing under its ownership.

The capital raise comes as the Trump administration has severely curtailed initiatives designed to support affordable housing. 

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at axing the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund “to the maximum extent” allowed by law. The program is thought of as fundamental to low-cost housing development and preservation.

The Trump administration has also called off millions of dollars worth of contracts with nonprofits that support low-cost housing development, and it is reportedly attempting to halve the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s workforce.

“It’s no secret that there’s a big market opportunity,” Bennett Goodman, executive chairman and co-founder of Hunter Point Capital, which has backed Vistria, told The New York Times. “What’s hard is being able to put together a scalable platform where you have sufficient capital to be relevant.”