Choosing Strategies
Choosing a StrategyDifferent strategies will work for different communities. The primary influence on how strategies will play out is the condition of the neighborhood housing market: how great the demand is for homes located in the neighborhood, and what people will pay to live there. In strong, higher-priced markets such as Naples, Florida, for example, foreclosed properties are being bought promptly in the private market without any incentives or intervention from government: Sixty percent of home sales in Lee County were REO properties in 2008. In contrast, a weak market city facing overall decline in its population and employment base may find hundreds of foreclosures destabilizing a single neighborhood and receive little interest from private buyers. In such places, strategic government action is clearly needed and could include targeted acquisition, demolition of dilapidated units, land banking of others, and, where appropriate, the rezoning of land uses. The need for additional affordable housing may define the strategies. In a market where affordable housing has been in short supply, this crisis presents an opportunity to change that dynamic by rehabilitating homes and selling them for affordable prices, by creating permanent affordable housing through the use of a community land trust, and by empowering first time homebuyers with lease-purchase programs. Neighborhood planning goals vary considerably and are too unique to include in the chart, but they should also receive due consideration. Finally, it is essential that communities evaluate each approach they are considering to determine if it is equitable (fair to all persons in the community, including low-income households and households of color), efficient, politically feasible, and likely to have a significant positive impact. Meant as a guide – and not a prescription – the chart on the following page illustrates which strategies are likely to work best in four general types of markets:
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