Insights

Study of mortgage foreclosure filings in Newark, NJ for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. This report distills recent trends in mortgage origination, delinquency and foreclosures in Newark from a variety of data sources. It provides a context of changes in the local real estate market to assist policymakers design an appropriate set of responses to counter the adverse impacts of foreclosures in Newark.

An increase in the delinquency rate for all mortgages in the District of Columbia over 2007 have resulted in more home foreclosures. Foreclosures can have a negative imact on neighborhoods and the entire city. This study offers an overview of subprime lending; a look at subprime lending in DC; and recommendations for how DC can help current and future borrowers. The study was conducted for the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.

Study of mortgage foreclosures in New Jersey for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the Ford Foundation. Our singular purpose was to add a measure of systematic and objective data analysis to the mortgage foreclosure problem facing New Jersey. As is often the case, by the time the study is complete, the problem is not what it was when the study began. That is uniquely true in this instance. The overall magnitude of the mortgage foreclosure problem, nationally and in New Jersey, has increased substantially over the last 18 months.

Detailed local case study of predatory lending that includes the analysis of complete mortgage and sale histories for 15,500 properties in the city of Philadelphia from 2000 to 2003 as well as interviews with a broad range of subject experts.

Funded by the Goldseker Foundation, this study looks at mortgage foreclosures in Baltimore, Maryland. The study looks at mortgage foreclosures over a five year period, describing causes and patterns that have emerged.

Study of mortgage foreclosure filings in Delaware for the State Bank Commissioner. The study provides a detailed analysis of trends, with an in-depth look at Kent, New Castle and Sussex counties in particular.

In-depth study of mortgage foreclosure filings in Pennsylvania. The study was conducted for the Pennsylvania Department of Banking, expanding on Reinvestment Fund’s analysis from 2004 of the foreclosure epidemic in the Poconos’ Monroe County.

Case study that examines the social and economic impacts of rental housing developed in a section of West Philadelphia by Neighborhood Restorations (NRLP), Reinvestment Fund’s largest affordable housing borrower.

Study for Housing Opportunities, Inc., with funding from The Heinz Endowments. This report seeks to answer critical questions regarding the low rates of African American homeownership in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

A report by the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia that proposes ten fixes to improve and streamline the development process in Philadelphia. The report aims to eliminate or change steps in the process that unnecessarily add to the cost of a home and otherwise deter developers from building or rehabilitating houses in the city.

Working paper on how some borrowers end up with subprime mortgages and the extent to which those loans serve the true financial needs of those borrowers.

Reinvestment Fund’s thorough analysis of foreclosures in Monroe County, PA’s second fastest growing county, provides the facts for State action on the crisis.

A follow-up to Flight or Fight, this agenda proposes three tangible state policy shifts that would have an immediate and significant impact on the region’s growth patterns.

Metropolitan Philadelphia is a place with extraordinary assets. It should be a region of choice, but it’s not. Our region has seen minimal population growth and alarmingly low job growth. What’s growing most rapidly is sprawl, and it’s hurting our region. It’s time to think differently and make some big, positive changes.

This report provides quantitative and qualitative data to forecast employer hiring needs in information technology and customer service occupations. It concludes that both these occupations cut across all industries and that the demand for these workers would continue based on favorable economic growth.

A course of action for rebuilding the Philadelphia region’s real estate market while seeking more regional activity around housing affordability.

An in-depth study of Pennsylvania’s housing market. Providing a basis for creating the State’s housing development strategy, the report focuses on the critical issues of community stability and public investment.