Market Study Requirements

A market study must be submitted at application and completed by a vendor meeting the requirements agreed upon in the Market Study Professional Certification document, found below. The market study itself must meet the requirements and follow the methodologies identified in the Market Study Parameters and have been issued within 180 days of the application submission. All market studies must be issued to MFA as the designated user. The market study must address and meet the following requirement*:

• Subject Capture Rate. The market study must provide a capture rate, as defined in the glossary, for the overall proposed project as well as capture rates for each targeted income level and bedroom count. The rent burden (rent plus utility allowance, if any) may not exceed 30 percent of gross income at each income strata proposed, and the overall capture rate for a project must not exceed 10 percent. This rate may be the subsidized rate if subsidies are secured at the time of application.

*Tribal and senior projects are exempt from meeting the capture rate level, but they must submit a market study meeting the requirements outlined in the Market Study Parameters document within the application materials. The market study must indicate a need for the type and quantity of housing proposed.

If the market study as submitted is not sufficient, there may be an additional market study ordered by MFA. The cost of this MFA-ordered market study will be covered by the applicant through the design deposit submitted at application, with any overage billed to owner. It is MFA’s sole discretion whether or not the market study is sufficient.