Research & Reports

Losing the American Dream: The Foreclosure Crisis in Rural America (PDF, 675 KB)
06/08 - Housing Assistance Council, Rural Voices Magazine

Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Survey and Best Practices
(PDF, 585 KB)
06/08 -U.S. Conference of Mayors

Defaulting on the Dream: States Respond to America's Foreclosure Crisis
04/08 - Pew Charitable Trusts

Financial Institutions and Foreclosure Intervention: Innovative Partnerships and and Strategies to Better Serve Borrowers in Default [PDF, 263 KB]
11/07 - NeighborWorks America

Sustainable Homeownership: Market and Policy Implications for Communities [PDF, 434 KB]
10/07 - The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), in partnership with NeighborWorks America

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), in partnership with NeighborWorks America, conducted a series of focus groups to gather information from Latino-serving institutions nationwide about best practices to prevent Latino foreclosure.

Post-Purchase Counseling and Default Resolutions Among Low- and Moderate Income Borrowers [PDF, 375 KB]
09/07 - Lei Ding, Roberto G. Quercia, Janneke Ratcliffe, Center for Community Capitalism, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Using a sample of residential mortgages made to low- and moderate-income borrowers, this report examines the impact of a proactive, post-purchase counseling service on delinquent mortgages.

Preserving Homeownership: Analyzing the Elements of Leading Foreclosure Prevention Programs [PDF, 901KB]
05/07 - NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions

Mortgage Foreclosures in Baltimore, Maryland [PDF, 7.3 MB]
09/06 - The Reinvestment Fund (TRF)

The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) was asked by the Goldseker Foundation to undertake a study of mortgage foreclosures in the state of Maryland. This report represents the completion of the first part of that study and details what TRF was able to observe in regard to foreclosure activity in Baltimore between January 2000 and April of 2005.

Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI)- Partnerships Lessons and Results Three-Year Final Report [PDF, 1 MB]
07/06 - Contributed by (first name last name)

This paper reports the results of the first three years of HOPI, Chicago’s foreclosureintervention program that was launched to address rising foreclosures in Chicago’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.  More information about Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago can be found at www.nhschicago.org.

The External Costs of Foreclosure: The Impact of Single-Family Mortgage Foreclosures on Property Values [PDF, 281KB]
2006 - Dan Immergluck and Geoff Smith

Dan Immergluck and Geoff Smith, Housing Policy Debate, Volume 17, Issue 1, Fannie Mae Foundation. (2006)

Mortgage Foreclosures in Atlanta: Patterns and Policy Issues [PDF, 1.7 MB]
12/05 - Mark Duda and William Apgar

Examines mortgage failures in metropolitan Atlanta.

Foreclosure Avoidance Research [PDF, 224 KB]
12/05 - Freddie Mac and Roper

Results of the nation’s first ever survey to learn why more late-paying borrowers risk losing their homes rather than reaching out to their mortgage servicers.

Effective Community-Based Strategies for Preventing Foreclosures [PDF, 271 KB]
09/05

This report describes the foreclosure process, including the process for loan workouts; reviews of the research on the various factors that lead to default and foreclosure; examines the rise of the subprime market and its relation to foreclosures; and presents case studies of community-based foreclosure prevention programs.

Vacant Properties: The True Costs to Communities (link to PDF on LISC website, 613 KB)
08/05

Data presented in this report shows that vacant properties are an expense that local governments simply cannot afford. The report summarizes the manycosts that vacant properties impose upon communities and highlights ways communities are finding to bring vitality back to once blighted neighborhoods.

Building a Better Urban Future: New Directions for Housing Policies in Weak Market Cities [link to PDF on LISC Web site, 462 KB]
07/05

This paper is intended to help CDCs, government agencies, lenders, community members, and foundations assess the effectiveness of current revitalization strategies and priorities in weak market cities; develop new tactics; and prioritize the allotment of resources to best achieve these goals.

There Goes the Neighborhood: The Effect of Single-Family Mortgage Foreclosures on Property Values [PDF, 689 KB]
06/05

This Woodstock Institute report examines the significant negative effect that foreclosures have on neighborhood property values.

Dreams Foreclosed: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-Stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams [PDF, 4.6 MB]
06/05 - National Consumer Law Center

Mid-Term Report for the Chicago Homeownership Preservation Initiative [PDF, 671 KB]
12/04

This report documents the year and a half results of Chicago's Homeownership Preservation Initiative in order to inform other cities, non-profit organizations, and private institutions engaged in addressing a local foreclosure crisis.

Research on post-purchase counseling and foreclosure prevention programs
07/04

(reports published on KnowledgePlex, a portal sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation):

• Current State of Post-Purchase Programs (July 2004)
• Descriptions of Post-Purchase Programs (July 2004)
• Essential Components of Post-Purchase Program Models (July 2004)
  
  

A Practitioner’s Guide to Combating Predatory Lending [link to PDF from LISC Web site, 1.52 MB]
06/04 - Christi Baker

This guide covers all aspects of predatory lending, a practice that has adversely affected homeownership among low-income families. In addition to providing definitions and identifying targeted populations, the guide includes some lessons learned for implementing effective strategies to combat these practices. Detailed case studies illustrate how tools such as public awareness campaigns can be used in local settings. Chrysalis Consulting. Publisher: LISC & NeighborWorks America.

Preserving Homeownership Community-Development Implications of the New Mortgage Market [PDF, 477 KB]
03/04

This report examines new ways that community-based organizations — working cooperatively with private industry and federal, state, and local governments — can develop foreclosure prevention initiatives. In addition, the report provides background on foreclosures and problems in loan origination, as well as recommendations for policymakers and community development organizations.

Providing Alternatives to Mortgage Foreclosure: A HUD Report to Congress

[baseline research from HUD Web site]

Mortgage Foreclosure Filings in Pennsylvania

(KnowledgePlex Web site) Pennsylvania now has some of the highest mortgage foreclosure rates in the nation. This report examines the factors driving this trend.

Research Into Mortgage Default and Affordable Housing: A Primer [PDF, 153 KB]

03/02 - Charles A. Capone, Jr., Ph.D., Publisher: LISC.

This publication describes the causes of mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies, the transition from delinquency to foreclosure, strategies for mitigating foreclosures, the role of credit scores, and layering credit risk. The paper is intended to provide an understanding of how to learn from econometric studies, the basis for lending decision models to affordable housing practitioners. It concludes with a discussion of the role of pre-purchase education in managing default risk for affordable housing mortgage portfolios.