Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Katz and Bradley in Newsweek: Cities & Suburbs Must Tackle Urban Issues Together


In a recent article in the Jan. 26th issue of Newsweek, Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program argue that America's urban challenges - and opportunities - have crossed city lines and migrated into the suburbs. Our suburbs, they say, now provide more jobs than cities, and have more immigrants. This means that suburbs share, in many ways, the city's traditional role as a job and economic development engine for the metro region.

Katz and Bradley write: "America can't ensure its leading place in the global economy unless we grapple with the problems and opportunities of our suburbs ... suburban governments are being flattened by the housing crisis - they don't have the experience or the capacity to slow the tide of foreclosures or deal with neighborhoods strafed by vacancies."

They argue that the federal government should use "some of the billions in recovery funding to help local governments buy up foreclosed properties and put that land in productive use ... policies need to treat metropolitan areas as a whole."

Katz and Bradley recommend the following:

- Support for regional clusters of high-tech industries and other sectors, which don't gather neatly in one municipality or another

- Creation of walk-able communities and additional public transit to link people in the suburbs with other communities and cities within the metro region

President Barack Obama has argued against an "outdated 'urban' agenda that focuses exclusively on the problems in our cities, and ignores our growing metro areas."

These policy recommendations offer a vision of what's next for America's cities, and have particular relevance for Northeast Ohio, due to the fragmented nature of municipalities within our region, as well as current efforts towards fostering a more efficient, competitive economy in our region.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

2009 Housing Market Preview: Good Deals, Low Rates and the Road to Recovery


The image of millions of people around the world celebrating the Inauguration of Barack Obama is a cause for hope. However, as President Obama stated in his bracing address, there are many challenges – and a great deal of hard work – ahead of us. Principal among those challenges is the U.S. economy, and central to our nation’s economic challenges is the housing market.

Here is our summary of a few housing market trends to watch out in 2009.

• The National Association of Realtors predicts that home sales nationally will increase by six percent in 2009, from 5 million to 5.3 million. This is a modest increase, but suggests that in many areas, the market has bottomed out, and will begin its climb towards recovery.
• The volume of new home sales is expected to continue to drop. In many cases, this may be a good thing, because it will gradually reduce the volume of inventory that has resulted from overbuilding within the market.
• Prices have dropped nationally about 12 percent from their peak in 2006. This spells trouble for sellers with little equity in their homes, but as the market levels out, sellers with equity should remain in a relatively stable position.
• The affordability index across the country has increased dramatically. A higher percentage of people with solid income and good credit should qualify to purchase a home, when compared with the market peak in 2005-2006. This is also good news for deal hunters. Savvy buyers will seek opportunities within the market – namely, they will take advantage of price drops from motivated sellers in desirable areas. In some cases, they may even be able to purchase a home for less than its appraised value.
• Low interest rates mean that buyers with solid income and good credit can save thousands of dollars and get a great deal on a home loan. Rates are still hovering around 5%, down from over 6% just a few months ago. Meanwhile, FHA loans require as little as 3.5 percent down.

The wild card in 2009 is government intervention. What will the Obama administration do to help speed the housing market recovery, assist troubled homeowners, and spur home sales? Obama and his advisors have spoken of greater intervention – this could help to further stabilize the market.

Credit Repair 101: Tips for Homebuyers


If you don’t have perfect credit, you are certainly not alone. Research shows that Americans have racked up too much debt, and that this is a part of the economic problems that we face currently. On the other hand, the world that we live in revolves around access to credit, for businesses and individuals, and maintaining access to credit is essential for most of us.

There is lots of information out there about credit repair. The bottom line is that individuals with bad credit must get their spending under control, address late payments and other issues, and be consistent about paying their bills over time.

Now more than ever, having good credit is essential for buying a home, due to the increased restrictions that many lending institutions have placed on home loans. In many cases, homebuyers with less than perfect credit may find themselves unable to obtain the most attractive financing terms – or to obtain financing at all.

What you may not know is that most credit reports contain inaccurate information. A June 2004 study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy group, showed that 23 percent of consumers had mistakes on their credit reports serious enough to result in the denial of credit.

Consumers’ rights are protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Here’s what you can do:

• Find out what’s in your file. Every U.S. consumer is now entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com for more info.
• Dispute inaccurate information. You can dispute errors online at the website listed above, or write a letter to all three credit bureaus detailing the dispute. Banks typically use the middle of all three credit scores when assessing a loan application, so this is important.
• Dispute inaccurate information at the source. Contact your credit card company, etc. if they have provided the wrong information.
• Get rid of outdated information. By law, if information such as a late payment is more than seven years old, it is supposed to be removed.
• Protect your credit identity. It is a federal crime to knowingly and willfully obtain a person’s credit report without consent or under false pretenses.

If you are seeking to purchase a home, refinance a home, or obtain additional credit in 2009, make sure that you stay on top of your credit, so that you can obtain the most favorable terms for your loan.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The National Magazine Names Policy Matters Ohio "Most Valuable State or Regional Group"


The Nation recently named Policy Matters Ohio, a statewide, progressive think tank, as one of the MVP's (Most Valuable Progressives) of 2008. Congrats to Policy Matters! Here's the text from the Nation article:

"Bridging the gap between sometimes esoteric national debates about economic issues and the real-life challenges faced by people living in Cleveland, Youngstown and Dayton, Policy Matters Ohio is a non-profit research and advocacy organization that pushes the envelope on debates about tax policy and the funding of essential education and safety-net programs. Intellectually rigorous, yet always accessible in its approach, this group has produced more than 160 reports that have given Ohio's progressive activists and legislators the tools they need to challenge corporate spin and pressure tactics. In tight economic times, groups such as Policy Matters Ohio are absolutely essential players in life-and-death debates about how state and local governmental agencies should respond to revenue shortfalls and rising demands for services. PMO's founding executive director, Amy Hanauer, is great at making the link between the initiatives of national groups with which she works--the Economic Policy Institute, Demos and the Apollo Alliance--and local and legislative policymakers in Ohio, moving progressive priorities out of Washington to the communities where good ideas can and must be turned into practical programs. As an example of what Policy Matters Ohio does, check out the group's great report: 'Limiting Loopholes: A dozen tax breaks Ohio can do without'."

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Downtown Cleveland Redevelopment Highlighted in Urban Land Magazine

In the January 2009 issue of Urban Land, several cities around the United States were highlighted for the rehabilitation of their historic warehouse districts into entertainment districts and residential hotspots.

Cleveland’s own Warehouse District was among those neighborhoods profiled. “Public and private investment totaling $450 million has gone into transforming the eight-block Warehouse District … into a hip neighborhood; 39 of the warehouses have been restored, 28 of which are certified historic structures. This redevelopment has attracted about 3,000 new residents to the area, mainly young professionals, as well as businesses with 2,500 employees.”

While the Warehouse District has blossomed as a neighborhood of choice in downtown Cleveland, other parts of downtown are also experiencing similar revitalization. Among those areas are Public Square and the East Fourth Street District. On Public Square, the historic Park Building is currently being transformed into 27 condominiums, which offer sweeping views of downtown.

Purchasers at the Park Building benefit from amazingly affordable interest rates that are below four percent. While the interest rates on thirty-year, fixed-rate loans have dropped to around 5%, Key Bank’s reduced rate financing program has further reduced the rate for Park Building purchasers, and hence, rates for these purchasers can be locked in well below four percent.

The renovation of the Park Building into condominiums, expected to be largely complete this year, will add another redevelopment project to downtown Cleveland’s already impressive success story.