rssVacant Homes: The New Subprime Scandal
Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 9:39 am
- 4 Comments
Per my earlier post explaining the growing crisis of vacant homes piling up around the country, here’s one of the best explanations for why we should be alarmed by this problem, courtesy of The Chicago Tribune:
“It’s a concern for the same reason the subprime lending problem should have been a concern five years ago,” said Geoff Smith, vice president at the Woodstock Institute. “There are certain communities that are more at risk, but if it goes unchecked … it has the potential to spiral and affect all parts of the economy.”
It’s certainly gone unchecked so far.
On stretches of Chicago’s North Side, they call some neighborhoods “condo ghost towns” now, because so many of those new developments are vacant. Neighborhoods that used to be considered trendy and on the way up are headed in reverse, blighted by vacancies and decline. This isn’t going away anytime soon. Washington may not see it yet, but people who live there are well aware that it’s going to take a very long time to rebound from this mess.
4 Comments
Comment posted March 19, 2009 @ 9:39 am
A lot of these new 'urban pioneer' neighborhoods in Chicago will be reclaimed by the 'hood. It's going to be like the jungle swallowing up a briefly grand temple in the middle of nowhere.
Comment posted March 19, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
A lot of these new 'urban pioneer' neighborhoods in Chicago will be reclaimed by the 'hood. It's going to be like the jungle swallowing up a briefly grand temple in the middle of nowhere.
Pingback posted March 26, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
[...] Mary Kane added an interesting post on The Washington Independent » Vacant Homes: The New Subprime ScandalHere’s a small excerptPer my earlier post explaining the growing crisis of vacant homes piling up around the country, here’s one of the best explanations for why we should be alarmed by this problem, courtesy of The Chicago Tribune: … [...]
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[...] Orange County Kids Activities added an interesting post today on Vacant Homes: The New Subprime ScandalHere’s a small reading…earlier post explaining the growing crisis of vacant homes piling up … “condo ghost towns” now, because so many of those new developments [...]
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