Malcolm McGregor
The NYC Housing Partnership has launched an Asset Management/Housing Stability Unit to strengthen asset management capacity across New York City’s affordable housing ecosystem which is facing increased financial stress as regulated rents fail to keep pace with rising operating costs.
Malcolm McGregor has joined the Housing Partnership as Chief Asset Management Officer, a newly created role, to lead the unit.
“Malcolm McGregor is a senior housing finance and policy leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of the real estate capital markets and affordable housing,” said Jamie Smarr, President & CEO of the Housing Partnership. “He adds his expertise and insights to our team at a crucial time for the affordable housing community. The new Asset Management/Housing Stability Unit is an important strategic expansion of the Housing Partnership’s mission to create and preserve affordable housing,” said Mr. Smarr.
Mr. McGregor joins the Housing Partnership from the Federal Housing Finance Agency where he served as senior policy analyst in the Office of Multifamily Analytics and Policy. Previously he was director of policy and analytics at the NYC Housing Development Corporation. Earlier in his career he served as senior project manager at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Prior to that he worked in the private sector as a property manager. Mr. McGregor earned two degrees at the University of Virginia, a bachelor’s degree in political science and a Master of Public Policy at the University’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
“Low interest rates masked significant problems across the City’s rent-stabilized and regulated affordable housing stock. When money was cheap and refinancing was easier, thin margins and deferred maintenance could be managed. That era has ended. The operating assumptions under which regulated properties were financed no longer work—regulated rents cannot adjust to market conditions while expenses continue to rise faster than expected,” said Jamie Smarr.
“Our goal is to build partnerships that convert distressed properties into stable, performing assets, we are offering a path that is government adjacent that relies on our deep and enduring relationships with public agencies,” said Mr. Smarr.
To help property owners and developers meet this challenge, the Housing Partnership’s new Asset Management/Housing Stability Unit provides:
earlier identification of emerging risk,
tighter coordination among stakeholders, and
stronger follow-through so issues are addressed before they become crises.
“The Housing Partnership’s new Asset Management/Housing Stability Unit complements—not replaces—the roles of owners, managing agents, lenders, investors, and public agencies to support outcomes that protect residents and preserve long-term affordability of multifamily housing in New York City. We focus on building capacity and partnerships to identify risk early and coordinate timely stabilization—before issues require extraordinary intervention or public subsidy,” said Malcolm McGregor.
He points to “growing financial strain impacting the City’s affordable housing stock, where regulated revenues have not kept pace with rising maintenance, capital improvements, insurance and energy costs.”
“These pressures create systemic risk. When distress emerges at scale, it slows credit, refinancing and new construction as lenders and investors recalibrate—compounding the crisis. Without early intervention and clear escalation pathways, isolated issues can become crises that undermine confidence across the affordable housing ecosystem,” warned Mr. McGregor.
“Property owners, CRE developers and portfolio managers, LIHTC syndicators, lenders, loan servicers, HDFCs and property managers tell us they need innovative solutions to meet the challenge of converting distressed multifamily affordable properties into stable, performing assets. We build special servicing asset management infrastructure to help them resolve their troubled assets by partnering with public agencies such as HPD, HDC and HCR,” said Mr. McGregor.
