Why It's Better to Live Near a Vacant House Than a Foreclosure

Occupied properties in foreclosure drag down home values twice as far as vacant properties, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Researchers looked at data from 9,601 sales in Cuyahoga County between April 1, 2010, and March 31, excluding sales not done at arms length and acquisitions by county and city land banks.

Homes that sold within 500 feet of at least one vacancy were priced 0.8 percent lower. Sale prices on those homes with a delinquent homeowner within the same radius dropped 0.7 percent.

But an occupied, tax-current home that recently entered foreclosure lowered the sales price by 1.8 percent, according to the Cleveland Fed's white paper.

Read the full story at HousingWire.

Also see:
Mortgage Mod Hell: Trapped Between Lenders, Collectors
HAMP Mortgage Modification Program Still No Help
The Mortgage Fix That Can Save the Economy

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