Chicago Public Radio reported on a recent spike in foreclosure auctions in the Chicago Area:The number of homes sold in foreclosure auctions jumped 56 percent in the Chicago area in the first quarter compared with last year. In Chicago, neighborhoods like Uptown and Lincoln Square had much bigger increases.
Read or listen to the story here.
Opportunities lost.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes yo, you are correct about this.
ReplyDeleteSo why haven' we read more about this on the Uptown Update blog?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't this be a big issue?
What are the causes of this problem?
JP,
ReplyDeleteHow many hours do you have?
i did a quick search on foreclosures & condos on this blog, and residential foreclosures, or any issues with condos, have hardly been mentioned on this blog.
ReplyDeleteThat just seems strange since these foreclosures didn't come out of nowhere. Why no discussion of them (other than because Helen Shiller isn't the cause of overvaluing and bad mortgage practices)
People knew in the early part of the decade that condos were being overpriced, but were dismissed as being Shilleristas.
Condos are fine, but if done on a reasonable and sustainable pace & price.
Would any of the aldermanic candidates push for making at least some of these foreclosures available to programs like Habitat for HUmanity (as one commenter on this blog has actually suggested)?
Some who have voted for Shiller were more voting against those who ignored the reality of overpricing, and the uncessary damage it's done to many families.
Actually, having the city pick up foreclosed units has been discussed quite often, JP.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when comparing the costs of picking up foreclosures against the costs of building new ( .... and, if you want to talk about overpriced!).
As for some pro-Shiller votes being cast against those ignoring the realities of the overpriced market, well .. maybe. But, I think you may be blurring the lines of the whacked-out real estate market of the past 5-8 years and the anti-gentrification meme of the last 20, just a little.
And, as long as we're picking at the extremes, it could be safe to say that some who voted against Shiller were voting against those who ignored the reality of oversaturating an area with government supported programs.
I mean, aiding the disfortunate with housing and other programs is an admirable cause, and necessary to a good number of the population; but if done on a reasonable and sustainable pace & price.
You are dead-on accurate, Helen Shiller isn't responsible for the over-priced condos, or horrible mortgage practices.
She is, however, behind some very curious spending policies, and - as the architect of Wilson Yard even commented on his website, using "political fanagling" to make that project happen.
So, I guess I'm curious as to what you find to be worse: curious lending practices by banks (and those who supported those practices) or curious spending practices by elected officials (and those who supported those practices)?
Yo, can let let me know what keywords i would need to bring up those posts. i have seen the suggestion in a comment on rare occasion ( i forget the person who has brought that up). But it's not something that has been strongly advicated as , say "Artist Residences".
ReplyDeleteRegarding the people voting pro-Shiller...the anti-Shiller sides haven't shown an interest in them or their issues. But the UCC and message posters have ignored these people. As I have mentioned in other posts, people will choose False Hope over No Hope every time.
i know a number of people who wouldn't have been directly helped by the social sevric eprograms or housing.
Sandra Reed was able to get some support by residents living at 4640, Wilson Care & the Habitat homes due to her and others' relationships. Other candidates have failed by not having those relationships.
To answer your final question, Yo, i find the practices by banks the worse offense.
The elected official can be voted out. We'll find out in December, but it seems like there are less homeless in Uptown
The banks, however, have artificially helped pump up prices, and forcing lower-income-but-market-rate long term residents, who keep themselves out of trouble, out of the neighborhood. The community they helped create get destabilized.
We'll see if Shiller gets booted out, like the Alderman who helped get i think it was the new Kennedy King in place. Or will people recall all the predictions that Target wouldnt actualy come, or the nitpicking about the Aldi's entrance?
jp, I wonder what your thoughts are about concentrated poverty?
ReplyDeleteWell, I take that back. I don't wonder. I already know.
Now that you don't live in Uptown anymore, perhaps you could spend more time being an advocate in your own community. I'm betting many people would appreciate it, wink wink. ;)
Hmmmm. This blog did not focus all its attention on homeowner and condo owner issues. The contributing authors have been sending in posts about crime, poorly run government and social programs, and neglected infrastructure instead.
ReplyDeleteWait? Doesn't that show that we aren't the voice of a bunch of gentrifying condo owners whose only goal in life is to make a quick buck on real estate investments by displacing the poor?
So Sorry we did not live up to your stereotypes and low expectations, JP,