RealEstateJournal: As houses empty, cities seek ways to fill the void

Facing a nationwide homeowner-vacancy rate that rose by a record 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, cities are looking at creative ways to get those houses back into the hands of those who need them.

In the February 8 edition of RealEstateJournal, writers Michael Corkery and Ruth Simon profile approaches being taken to combat the problem in San Diego, Cleveland, Providence and Flint.

These approaches typically utilize a sort of "land bank" system or go-between, which uses public and private financing to purchase the homes and make them available to developers, who will then create affordable housing.

Locally, Cincinnati City Council has proposed to team up with Hamilton County to form the Neighborhood Homes Initiative, which would make foreclosed properties available to community development corporations, urban redevelopment corporations and non-profit developers and keep them out of the hands of out-of-state banks and unscrupulous property flippers.