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31 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM A W O M E N O W N E D L A W F I R M Appeals, Bankruptcy, Collections, Contract Review, Compliance, Deed-In-Lieu, Due Diligence Assistance, Foreclosure, Evictions, Litigation, REO, Title ALABAMA | FLORIDA | GEORGIA | MARYLAND | NORTH CAROLINA | SOUTH CAROLINA | TENNESSEE | VIRGINIA WWW.MTGLAW.COM THE HYPERVACANCY PROBLEM IN AMERICAN CITIES Over the last few decades, housing vacan- cies have become more widespread in many American communities. at's according to a new report published this week by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. But why is the problem so widespread, and what can communities do about it? In a Policy Focus Report entitled "e Empty House Next Door: Understanding and Reducing Vacancy and Hypervacancy in the United States," researcher Alan Mallach analyzes U.S. Census and Postal Service data for 15 American cities ranging from San Francisco to Dallas to Boston. e report examines the increasing occurrences of "hypervacancy" in these cities, which the re- port defines as when at least one in five properties is vacant within a given area. e report points out that, in 2015, more than 49 percent of Census tracts in Flint, Michigan, suffered from hypervacancy, "with more than a quarter of units vacant in each tract." In Detroit, the number was 46 percent; in Gary, Indiana, it was 42 percent. e problem is on the rise in many American cities. In the report, Mallach explains that these high levels of vacancy fundamentally disrupt the local housing markets. "Houses sell, if they sell at all, only to investors at rock-bottom prices while the neighborhoods become areas of concentrated poverty, unemployment, and health problems." Mallach also spotlights increases in the number of properties that have been "effectively aban- doned"—unused, empty properties that are neither for sale nor for rent. According to the report, the number of units that are effectively abandoned has increased nationally from 3.7 million in 2005 to 5.8 million in 2016. at was an uptick of 2.1 million units—"roughly equal to five times the entire housing stock of San Francisco." e report lays out contributing factors that need to be addressed, such as convoluted foreclosure processes, but also highlights how various communities are working to combat the problem. According to the report, Baltimore has successfully put 1,300 units back into circula- tion since 2010, thanks to the use of receivership and partnerships with for-profit and nonprofit developers. e report also cites initiatives in Cleve- land and Philadelphia that worked to demolish abandoned properties and convert the lots to community green space. e report recommends that affected cities adopt better data-collection strategies on their local vacancies, make it easier for the properties to be repurposed, and "balance demolition with reha- bilitation as part of a larger strategy for revival." is the year-over-year increase in home remodeling for Q1 2018, the fastest pace that the residential activity of this sort has grown in four years. Source: Metrostudy, First Quarter 2018 Residential Remodeling Index (RRI) STAT INSIGHT 5.2%

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