Skip to main content

The Federal Reserve : An Uneven Housing Recovery: Implications for Community Development

An Uneven Housing Recovery: Implications for Community Development

August 22, 2013
 
By Laura Choi, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

After years of gloomy housing reports, we’ve been seeing some promising signs of a national housing market recovery. For example, from June 2012 to June 2013, U.S. home prices increased by 11.9 percent1 and the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing fell by 35 percent.2 However, these encouraging indicators mask the realities of what’s happening on the ground in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities that were disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Complicating matters is the unprecedented role of investors in the housing recovery and the changing nature of local housing markets.3 A new Community Development Research Brief, Housing Market Recovery in the 12th District: Implications for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities, presents data and analysis on the recent housing market recovery and its implications for LMI communities.
For example, consider what’s happening in LMI areas:
In addition, housing market trends vary dramatically by geography. For example, as shown below, foreclosure rates in the Fed’s 12th District follow very different patterns by state. Areas with sizeable distressed property inventory and high growth potential saw heavy investor activitiy, which raises questions about the potential impact on communities, particularly in areas such as Oakland, Phoenix and Las Vegas that have seen heavy investor purchases. Major concerns surround the ability and willingness of absentee owners to invest in and maintain properties, with LMI renters bearing the burden. All of this uncertainty creates particular challenges for LMI households and communities, which often lack the financial and political resources to mitigate risk and advocate for appropriate protections.
foreclosure-rates-12th-district-06-13This is not to suggest that all investors are alike, or that any and all investor activity will be detrimental to communities. Investors differ in their skill, resources, and priorities, and there may be important opportunities for the community development field to partner with and learn from them. For example, many investors will be experimenting with scattered-site single-family rental property management (an issue which has posed numerous challenges for non-profit housing developers) creating opportunities for improvement and innovation. Similarly, direct partnerships may also form in an effort to support local communities.

Given the wide-range of housing recovery issues across the District, it is imperative that strong public policies play a role in promoting neighborhood stabilization and protecting LMI households and communities. For example, a number of cities have adopted rental registries to collect data on rental properties and owners, which allows for better code enforcement and improved property maintenance. The City of Oakland has implemented a foreclosed property registry to manage blight and monitor properties through various stages of delinquency. Other approaches, such as policies that promote land banking or community land trusts, can help sustain local property ownership. In addition, efforts such as the National Community Stabilization Trust’s First Look program allows municipalities and locally based housing providers to gain access to foreclosed and abandoned properties in targeted neighborhoods, without facing competition from investors, in a more streamlined and predictable manner that saves valuable time and resources. Just as each market is unique, the appropriate policy response will vary by community.

To learn more, read the latest Community Development Research Brief, Housing Market Recovery in the 12th District: Implications for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities.


1. CoreLogic. Home Price Index Report, June 2013.
2. RealtyTrac. National Real Estate Trends & Market Info, Market Summary, June 2013.
3. In February 2013, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and Cleveland hosted a conference entitled Renters, Homeowners & Investors: The Changing Profile of Communities.
4. CoreLogic, “Number of Residential Properties in Negative Equity Declines Again in Q3 2012.” January 17, 2013. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

🔳🟥🔲🟩 The New Syrian Economy 🟩 🔲 🟥🔳

  2020   Int'l Golden Rule of Economy for  Syria Conflicts ~BY Christine Cerda 🌟 https://about.me/christine.cerda 🔳 🟥 🔲 🟩   $226B Loss in GDP Syria Conflicts 2016  🟩   🔲  🟥 🔳 (8) 24/7 🔳  EXPLORATION  🔳 Altruism 🔳 International Relations Reciprocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocity_(international_relations) Commoditization Solutions https://securitiesce.com/definitions/5756-interlocking-directorate/ 🔲  INNOVATION  🔲  Quantum Evolution*  In the  United States , the  Clayton Act   prohibits interlocking directorates by U.S. companies competing in the same industry, if those corporations would violate  antitrust laws  if combined into a single corporation. However, at least 1 in 8 of the interlocks in the United States are between corporations that are supposedly competitors   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlocking_directorate ⬜️ AIR/ENVIRONMENT 🟫  Games, Experiment ⬜️ Reject Hate Speech and Dividing Expression   Histo

Short sales soar in California, U.S. - latimes.com

Short sales soar in California, U.S. - latimes.com The short sale phenomenon can only be as successful as the individuals who are attempting to work at them. Until we've educated our ourselves on the Benefits, Features and Outcomes of the positive nature of the Short Sale, the industry will never be strong enough to offset the political tension between the President and the Banks.

Obligation in the 💚 Sensation & FB Harmonisation

Harmonization is sensational for the love 💚 (philautia, storge, agape & pragma) of life creational. Empowering people to generational wealth! Business Development & Strategy Ombudsman Christine Cerda, MBA/GM California Realtor Lic 01702401 559-285-1999 Sandberg added that Facebook would be working to ensure that future advertisements do not run afoul of fair housing laws. “We’re building a tool so you can search for and view all current housing ads in the U.S. targeted to different places across the country, regardless of whether the ads are shown to you,” she continued. “Housing, employment and credit ads are crucial to helping people buy new homes, start great careers, and gain access to credit. They should never be used to exclude or harm people. Getting this right is deeply important to me and all of us at Facebook because inclusivity is a core value for our company.”  “This settlement positively impacts all of Facebook’s 210 million users in the U.S. si