HousingWorks RI Releases Latest Foreclosure Report

This week Steve and I spoke with Nellie Gorbea, Executive Director of Housing Works RI. Housing Works RI is a coalition of 140 organizations whose goal is to ensure the state has enough affordable homes to meet the need. Last Thursday they issued their third annual foreclosure report that analyzed data on the foreclosure problem and its implications for the State. The study found that 6,740 residential foreclosure deeds were filed in Rhode Island from January 2009 through December 2011, with 2,009 residential foreclosure deeds filed in 2011 alone. Central Falls was the hardest hit community with close to 14 % of the city’s mortgaged housing stock having been foreclosed in the past three years. (13.66%) Warwick had the highest number of single-family foreclosures, (686) beating out Providence, but ranked 8th for foreclosures as percentage of mortgage housing stock. Providence had the highest number of multi-family foreclosures (1,048) which has had a tremendous impact on rentals in the state, Nearly one third of the residential foreclosure deeds filed from 2009 through 2011 were multi-family properties and HousingWorks RI estimates that over 6,300 apartments were lost due to the 2,178 multi-family foreclosures (2009-2011). This has put upward pressure on rents, so that one in four Rhode Islanders now have to spend more than 50% on their rent every month. This Week's Real Estate Insight:  The last time we had Nellie on, we talked about how the 2006 $50million affordable housing bond generated $800 million in total economic activity and sparked more than half of all the new construction between 2007-2010. Today, Building Homes Rhode Island is helping revitalize blighted neighborhoods, $19 million bond dollars were used to create over 530 long-term affordable rentals and 40 ownership homes out of foreclosed units. We still need to develop consistent funding policy for long-term affordable homes to ensure the full-continuum of need is met (from permanent supportive housing to workforce housing) lawmakers must consider another $50 million housing bond.