HBA Newswatch
April 29, 2008
EDITORIAL: AFFORDABLE HOMES WELCOME IDEAS FOR HOUSING FUND
The nation's sputtering real estate market hasn't been the good news one might expect for low-income Philadelphians looking for affordable housing.
For one thing, prices haven't dipped that low. Plus, the slower pace of home sales and mortgage refinancing has greatly reduced the fees collected by the city for its affordable housing fund.
Funding for the city's Housing Trust Fund, launched in mid-2005, has dropped about $2 million - nearly 15 percent - over the last year as real estate transactions slowed. By city ordinance, the fund receives $70 for each deed and mortgage recorded.
Fewer deals equals a smaller kitty to promote the construction of affordable units, as well as renovations to keep low-income owners in their properties. So far, the fund has provided $35 million to help more than 2,200 families.
An estimated 60,000 city residents can't afford housing, so it's good that Mayor Nutter has proposed tapping the general fund to add $1 million annually to the trust fund over five years.
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PHILA. REGION FORECLOSURES LOWER THAN U.S. RATE
By Alan J. Heavens
INQUIRER REAL ESTATE WRITER
The region's first-quarter foreclosure rate fell almost 30 percent from the same period a year ago, bucking a national trend that saw filings rise to 1 in every 194 U.S. households.
The rate put Philadelphia 82d on a list of 100 metro areas compiled by RealtyTrac, the Irvine, Calif., firm that tracks foreclosures nationwide.
The top 10 metro areas for foreclosure filings included seven cities in California, Las Vegas and Detroit.
Stockton, Calif., in the central part of the state, led the list with 7,560 filings, or 1 household in 30, an increase of more than 291 percent from January to March 2007.
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