Marge Novak
Marge Novak has worked on affordable housing deals from multiple sides.
As senior vice president of capital markets at Berkadia Affordable Housing, she oversees capital raising and investor relations for its low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) business. In addition to LIHTC syndication, the company has a dedicated investment sales team and mortgage bankers focused on affordable housing.
“We’re continuing to focus on the growth and integration of those three components (tax credit equity, mortgage banking, and investment sales) within our affordable housing platform to benefit both our developer and investor clients,” says Novak, who joined the firm in 2020.
Four of the five managers in Berkadia’s tax credit group are women.
Novak’s interest in affordable housing was sparked in college when she wrote a paper about Massachusetts’ “anti-snob zoning act.” Years later, she decided to pursue a job in housing and began by poring through a hefty book that listed nonprofit organizations by category, including housing. That eventually led Novak to the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), where she worked in the agency’s newly created office of housing coordination services. After two years, she moved to IHDA’s tax credit department, allocating LIHTCs.
Novak has also held leadership positions at National Equity Fund, Fannie Mae, and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. Prior to joining Berkadia, she was an executive vice president at Cinnaire, a LIHTC syndicator and community development financial organization.
Through these different roles, she’s touched countless affordable homes.
“I love working in affordable housing because it allows me to use my finance background and love of numbers for a critically important cause,” Novak says. “I truly believe that housing is a basic human need, and I feel fortunate to have been able to devote my entire career to this cause.”
She serves on the legislative committee of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.
