Investing in the post-foreclosure housing market: how neighborhood characteristics and real estate actors affect recovery

As the housing market continues to recover from the foreclosure crisis, an opportunity arises to examine how different hart-hit neighborhoods have managed to recover. This is a two-part study that examines real estate investor activity among REO properties in the Chicago region. The first part consists of a qualitative inquiry consisting of interviews with investors who are active in Chicago’s Southland region. That is followed by an examination of the trajectory of real estate-owned (REO) sales in the Chicago metropolitan statistical area from 2009 to 2013, roughly the first few years of the housing market recovery. Using a data set of property transactions, it tracks property sales to investors and owner-occupants, and examines the neighborhood characteristics that contribute to an investor’s decision to purchase an REO property. `Findings are consistent with previous studies in that investor activity is high in neighborhoods with higher proportions of African American and older residents. In addition, investors report that they consider neighborhood context to be more important than property condition when considering a property’s resale value and that they show a willingness to work with nonprofit or public actors. By understanding the neighborhood-level determinants of REO dispositions and the primary motivation of REO investors’ property selection method, planners can help promote an equitable recovery and greater housing stability within neighborhoods that experience a distinct housing market downturn.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Regional Planning

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• McMillan, Andrew

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chakraborty, Arnab
• Greenlee, Andrew
• Hanlon, Bernadette
• Wilson, Bev

• urban planning, housing, foreclosures

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 Andrew McMillan

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101708

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101708