Woodstock Institute

Chicago region foreclosure cases are taking longer to complete the foreclosure process, resulting in a dramatic drop in foreclosure completions from the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, new data from Woodstock Institute show. As fewer cases complete the foreclosure process each quarter, it is likely that the number of homes tied up in the foreclosure process is growing.
 

 Opportunity to comment on proposed mortgage rules ends Monday
 

Sameera Fazili of the U.S. Department of the Treasury explains the Administration's proposals to reform the housing finance system at a Woodstock Institute event.
 
 

By Katie Buitrago, Woodstock Institute
 

Please join Woodstock Institute Senior Vice President Geoff Smith and Senior Research and Project Associate Sarah Duda as they discuss findings and policy recommendations from "Paying More for the American Dream V: The Persistence and Evolution of the Dual Mortgage Market," a national report released in partnership with California Reinvestment Coalition, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina Read more »

Access to mortgage refinance loans sharply declined in communities of color and increased substantially in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to a report released today by a multistate coalition of groups.
 

Banks repossess nearly 2,800 homes in Cook County in the first quarter of 2011
 

 Members of the Regional Home Ownership Preservation Initiative sent a letter urging the Illinois delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against t H.R. 839, The HAMP Termination Act of 2011, which would cancel funding for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). In the letter, Housing Action Illinois, Metropolitan Planning Council, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, and Woodstock Institute told representatives:
 

It’s clear that vacant homes put a damper on their surrounding community. Not only are they eyesores, they put other homes at risk of losing value and may attract crime and other destabilizing elements. To minimize these risks, many municipalities have ordinances that allow them to hold the homes’ owners responsible for securing and maintaining the property. What can already-strapped local governments do if it’s unclear who the owner is, or the owner hasn’t notified them that the property is vacant?
 

Please mark your calendars for “Fostering Opportunity: The Impacts of Changes in Housing Finance on Access to Credit and Housing Choices.” The event will include a forum on the future of housing finance and its potential impacts on access to quality affordable housing in Chicago’s lower-wealth communities and communities of color, as well as Woodstock Institute’s annual Community Investment Awards honoring extraordinary contributions to the community from community-based organizations, financial institutions, and the media. Read more »

By Americans for Financial Reform
 
Foreclosures don’t just hurt the family who loses their home – they damage the neighborhood, the community, and the larger economy. That’s why economic forecasts almost always highlight the state of the housing market and the impact of foreclosures. As Federal Reserve governor Joseph Tracy recently put it in his economic outlook for 2011: