DS News - Digital Archives

IN THE NEWS North Dakota rank: 49 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 0.5% Unemployment Rate 0.8% 3.3% year ago 0.6% 1.1% 3.0% Cleveland Fed Presents Policies to Improve Housing in Ohio year-over-year change -17.5% -25.2% 10.0% Top County 90+ Day Delinquency Rate BarNes CouNTy Foreclosure Rate April 2013 0.3% 1.7% year ago 0.5% 1.2% year-over-year change -37.5% 44.5% Top Core-Based statistical area JamesTowN, ND 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 0.5% 1.2% year ago 0.4% 1.2% year-over-year change 25.0% -0.4% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. Ohio rank: 12 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 2.9% Unemployment Rate 3.4% 7.0% year ago 3.1% 4.5% 7.3% year-over-year change -6.9% -24.6% -4.1% Top County MahOning COunTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate April 2013 3.7% Foreclosure Rate 5.9% year ago 4.2% 7.6% year-over-year change -11.6% -22.2% Top Core-Based Statistical area aShTaBula, Oh 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 3.3% 5.6% year ago 3.4% 7.1% year-over-year change -4.1% -21.5% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. 86 The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland recently compiled a comprehensive report to aid the creation of a more effective environment for which Ohioans can navigate—and stabilize—their state's housing market successfully. The report is a result of years of research, as well as experience working with Ohio bankers, community development practitioners, and other market participants. The crux of this compilation is to provide a useful framework for weighing the positives and negatives of specific programs that Ohioans can use to stabilize the housing sector. The report begins by giving credit to the country for its statistics that show the nation's housing market overall is showing vast improvement compared with the recessionary lows. However, the staff at the Cleveland Fed is quick to point out that although the news is good for the economic recovery, the remaining ruins of the recent housing crisis linger on, seen in the sheer magnitude of still existing foreclosures and vacant properties. Ohio, specifically, is a state that has seen these particular housing traumas tenfold, and with its older industrial cities and weak market overall, the state requires policies that the Cleveland Fed sees as being tailored to suit specific needs. There are five main policies presented in the paper by the Cleveland Fed, calling for careful consideration from Ohioans. The first policy attempts to address the age-old issue of foreclosures, vacancies, and low-value or abandoned properties. Each of these types of properties, when present, serves to lower the surrounding value of properties. During the process of any extended time that properties remain in these states, the property itself has more opportunity and a higher risk of falling into further disrepair, or even suffer the fate of vandalism and theft as scrap metal and materials of value can be resold. In light of this problem, many states have moved to speed up the mortgage foreclosure process in these scenarios. The second policy discussion is over the elimination of minimum-bid requirements, directly addressing the law in Ohio stating that a minimum bid must be at least two-thirds of a foreclosed property's appraised value at the first auction. The Cleveland Fed points to the fear that this requirement may prevent some prospective property rehabbers from entering the market, and goes on to mention that eliminating the minimum-bid requirements could in fact enhance market efficiency by lowering transaction costs and reducing the amount of time properties stay vacant. The third policy addresses "harmful speculation," or the purchase of distressed property with no intent to invest in improving it or paying property taxes. Most often apparent in extremely low-value markets, this behavior is rampant in Ohio, according to the local Fed. The report offers up an idea for requiring registration with the Secretary of State and the payment of back taxes or of code violations before low-value properties can be officially transferred. Such a policy would help the government maintain control and stay abreast of the transaction activities within the industry. The fourth policy is a call for expanded access to land banks. Established with the purpose of acquiring, remediating, and making productive use of vacant and abandoned properties, nonprofit land banks aid in minimizing the surplus of housing, which is known to be the sole underlying cause of the vast vacancy and abandonment facing Ohio today. Lastly, the report points to the implementation of the policy for improving data collection and access. Simply put, correct and current data helps the industry to make smarter, informed decisions to better identify what works and what doesn't, allowing them to then allocate resources in the most efficient manner possible. KNOW THIS In Cleveland, there are 1,318 potential foreclosure fixer-uppers, according to RealtyTrac, which the company defines as bank-owned inventory built before 1960 and valued under $100K. In Cincinnati, there are 1,016.

• Cover