• Christie Can't Abolish Affordable Housing Agency, Rules New Jersey Supreme Court
• Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   June 12, 2012
• With the case not likely to be heard until the fall, Gov. Chris Christie will have to come up with $161 million for the new budget year that begins July 1 to make up for the council’s unused affordable-housing money he had been counting on.

• Property-Tax Delinquents Owe Philadelphia $515.4M
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Philadelphia   |   June 11, 2012
• Philadelphia property-tax delinquents piled up an additional $43.8 million in new debt over the last year, an increase of 9.3 percent in a single year, city records show. About 18 percent of all parcels in the city are in arrears -- no other big city in the nation approaches that level of property-tax delinquency.

• Young Home Buyers Plunge in Massachusetts
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   June 11, 2012
• The number of 25-to-34-year-olds owning homes in Massachusetts plunged 20 percent between 2005 and 2010, even as the overall number of homeowners in the state increased slightly, according to the US census.

• Housing-First Project for Homeless Cuts Local Costs
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   Los Angeles County, Calif.   |   June 8, 2012
• A study of homeless adults housed by L.A. County's Project 50 suggests providing permanent housing to vulnerable populations saves local governments money.

• Obama Administration Sets Local Housing Agency Pay Caps
• Source: AP/Boston Globe   |   Nation   |   June 5, 2012
• The Obama administration is clamping down on excessive pay at public housing authorities, setting caps that extend and expand limits imposed by Congress. The action comes as the administration revealed that the top official at the Atlanta housing agency received a compensation package of $644,214, the highest in the country.

• Pew Report: Cities Lose Property Tax, State Aid
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 1, 2012
• For the first time since 1980, property tax revenue and state aid to cities across the United States are shrinking simultaneously, the Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report.
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• Foreclosure-Prevention Efforts Stall in California
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   May 24, 2012
• Efforts to ease California's foreclosure woes, among the worst in the nation, are running into roadblocks at the state Capitol.
• 1 Comments

• Virginia Diverted Mortgage Settlement Money to Local Governments
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Virginia   |   May 23, 2012
• Virginia diverted most of a multimillion-dollar mortgage settlement that was intended to protect consumers and assist state foreclosure prevention efforts to local governments.
• 2 Comments

• Philadelphia Sells Vacant Properties Online
• Source: Philadelphia Daily News   |   Philadelphia   |   May 22, 2012
• The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority is rolling out a new online site for viewing all of its vacant land and buildings. If all goes as planned, you’ll be able to scan a map of the city showing properties for sale, scroll over an address to find out critical information and send the city an e-mail to express your interest.
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• States Using Mortgage Money to Plug Budget Holes
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   May 16, 2012
• Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide a little relief to the nation’s struggling homeowners is being diverted to plug state budget gaps.

• Detroit Housing Plan Lures Few Police, Firefighters Back to City
• Source: Detroit News   |   Detroit   |   May 16, 2012
• More than a year after Mayor Dave Bing launched a campaign to lure police and firefighters back to the city by selling rehabbed homes on the cheap, the program has sold six houses. Skeptics say it's a questionable use of $5 million in federal grant money that could be spent elsewhere.
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• Collective Impact and the Modern City
• BY: Feather O'Connor Houstoun   |   May 9, 2012
• Tireless collaboration led to a revamped development process that promises to help revitalize Philadelphia.

• Iowa Property Tax Bill Killed
• Source: Des Moines Register   |   Iowa   |   May 9, 2012
• A Democratic proposal to reduce Iowa business property taxes died in a political clash that left each party pointing fingers of blame.

• Homeless Count in Denver Grows
• Source: Denver Post   |   Denver   |   May 8, 2012
• The Denver area has more homeless people, more homeless families and more unsheltered homeless people than last year, according to the release of the 2012 Point-in-Time Study, a week before the Denver City Council's final vote on an ordinance to ban unauthorized camping.

• Foreclosed Homes Become Indoor Marijuana Farms
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   May 7, 2012
• Organized marijuana growers are shifting to the suburbs from rural and commercial areas, helped by a housing crisis that created a glut of affordable, spacious houses and a stream of new residents to previously more stable communities. Houses that sold for $1 million before the crisis have been turned into grow houses, equipped with the high-intensity lights, water and air-filtering systems necessary to produce potent, high-quality marijuana.