Land Banks and Affordable Housing

You can hardly turn on the news today without hearing a report that the number of foreclosed properties continues to rise nationwide. In July 2008, 272,000 households received foreclosure filings; a 50 percent increase from the same month last year. Communities affected by foreclosures and housing abandonment are turning to land banking as both a tool for revitalization and as an opportunity to increase the affordable housing supply. This article will focus on three municipal land banking programs that, aided by state statutes, have been successful in utilizing tax-foreclosed properties to produce affordable housing.

Full Story: http://www.huduser.org/rbc/newsletter/vol7iss5more.html