After yesterday’s report about the trickle of federal recovery aid being used to assist mortgage holders on the brink of foreclosure, we can return to the topic of the housing crisis with some much better news. NeighborWorks America has announced that it will be distributing $119 million in grants for this year. The amount is […]
Homeowners Getting Federal Help
Image via Wikipedia The mortgage bubble that Wall Street players were puffing up and were betting would break has, of course, brought down almost everything else with it (save investor bonuses). The fallout was one of the many catalysts for the sweeping political change of the elections of 2008. One of the loudest political debates […]
#DESIGN: NHSNYC – Communications Kit
The Challenge: Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City was dissatisfied with the lack of a coherent marketing communications kit outlining all of their programs and outreach their organization provide. They needed a compelling solution for stakeholders and for the general public at large. Our Solution: We worked with NHSNYC to develop a number of […]
Baltimore And Its Home-Seekers Want 1Gigabit Network
Gus G. Sentementes, tech guru at The Baltimore Sun, has recently reported on the efforts of the Greater Baltimore Committee (with the help of Under Armour, Inc.) to lure Google to bring its one-gigabyte-per-second network to Charm City. We reported on Google’s announcement and Request for Proposals about six weeks ago, and our fair city […]
Banks Back to Profitability (& Bonuses) But Homeowners Still Drowning
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) likely kept the banking industry afloat, and few doubt the necessity to keep the banking industry solvent for the sake of functioning markets and businesses. The bailout began under the president who encouraged the housing bubble in the first place, and was accepted by the Obama Administration as a […]
Stark Figures on Housing in Major Markets
The crash of the housing market might be behind us (although ‘Objects in Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear’), but the recessionary effects abound, as does the detritus of the houses themselves. So many built on the belief that mortgages could be offered indefinitely, and paid back indefinitely as well. The momentum of the […]
The Social Costs of the Housing Crash: Hispanic Communities in NYC
Last week we posted a couple of reports pointing to the relative stability in the housing market that Baltimore has ‘enjoyed’ and how the faltering economy seems to have spurred growth in the non-profit sector. Today we are reminded of how important the qualifier ‘relative’ is. Optimists and bank executives largely believe the economy has […]
#PublicPolicy: Baltimore’s Crisis – Is a Sustainable Resurgence Possible in 2010?
The community/public-service website LiveBaltimore.com recently announced a free workshop entitled “Is Now The Right Time to Buy a Home?” The website then had to announce that the tsnownamis of 2010 have forced postponement. Keep an eye on the site, as LiveBaltimore will soon post the rescheduled event. Which begs the question, IS now the right […]