Safeguard Properties

Pittsburgh Demolishing Nearly Two Dozen Blighted Homes Left Vacant for Years

Posted on by Safeguard

One Community Update
March 4, 2026

Source: homes.com

Pittsburgh is planning to raze nearly two dozen homes that have sat vacant for years, a move real estate agents say will boost property values in four neighborhoods.

All told, 23 properties are slated for demolition in Pittsburgh’s Arlington, Beltzhoover, Knoxville and Saint Clair neighborhoods. The city’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections has deemed the homes public safety hazards.

The demolition work, which has already begun, will be finished by the end of spring, a spokesperson for Mayor Corey O’Connor’s office told Homes.com News.

Officials said they are tearing down the homes, in part, because neighbors have complained about the structures being eyesores. Bob Charland, a city councilperson who represents the four neighborhoods, said in a statement that the structures are beyond repair and that resident complaints about blighted properties generate more phone calls to his office than anything else.

O’Connor — who took office this year, succeeding Ed Gainey — said in a statement last month that “no Pittsburgher should have to live next to a property that’s been abandoned for years and falling down.”

Pittsburgh is Pennsylvania’s second-largest city, with an estimated 307,688 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau tally for 2024.

Once the homes are razed, the city will take ownership of the plots and post them for sale. Each plot will have a lien on it — equal to the cost of the demolition — and whoever buys the land will have to pay it, an O’Connor spokesperson told Homes.com News.

The 23 homes slated for demolition represent a small slice of the vacant properties in Pittsburgh. According to a 2024 U.S. Census Bureau count, Pittsburgh had 167,913 total housing units and 24,916 were vacant. As of Tuesday evening, a city-managed online database listed more than 3,260 condemned residential properties.

Tearing down thousands of vacant homes in Pittsburgh would likely cost the city millions of dollars if done all at once. The 23 homes mark city officials’ attempt to address the issue in batches.

The city’s move to demolish homes is an absolute win for the housing market, Christa Humphrey Ross, a broker with ReMax Select Realty in Pittsburgh, told Homes.com News, noting that abandoned homes “turn off potential buyers and drag down the value of the entire neighborhood.”

“Pittsburgh’s investment to remove these problem properties is good news for homeowners in those neighborhoods,” she said. “And if new homes are built on the infill lots, that would also be a positive development for the areas.”

City faces significant housing shortage

The demolition plans arrive as the “Steel City,” which is already projected to see declining property tax revenue, faces a significant housing shortage. A 2022 city housing assessment found that Pittsburgh will need an additional 3,100 single-family homes to meet the demand by 2032 and 8,400 by 2042. To help the issue, the city launched a program last year to clear the titles of vacant and tax-delinquent homes.

One of the biggest challenges facing Pittsburgh’s housing market is the number of vacant properties that have popped up since the steel factories closed and laid off workers, city officials and real estate brokers have said.

“Pittsburgh has a lot of homes that have been abandoned, and the cost to restore them is prohibitive for what they can be resold for, so we see many homes that just sit and rot because the finances to renovate don’t make sense,” Ross said. “Those homes are never going to be part of the useful inventory and getting them out of the neighborhoods so the area as a whole can improve in value is the best thing that can happen.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

Essex County Land Bank: Removing Blight and Building Workforce Housing in the Adirondacks

Posted on by Safeguard

One Community Update
February 24, 2026

Source: northcountrypublicradio.org

NY looking to expand land banks

There are 31 land banks currently in New York state. They demolish, rehabilitate, and even build homes, and have access to specific state funding.

Governor Kathy Hochul has called them a “valuable tool” in addressing the issue of affordable housing. The state says since land banks were created in 2o11, they have returned “thousands of properties back to productive use and created affordable housing opportunities in communities from Buffalo to Long Island.”

Hochul recently announced she wants to increase the number of allowed land banks in the state, from 35 to 45.

In Northern NY, there are just a few land banks. There’s one in the City of Ogdensburg, one in Franklin County, and one in Essex County.

The Essex County Land Bank was established in the summer of 2023, and has accomplished a lot in its short tenure. Here’s how that happened.

Persistent blight and where does the workforce live?

Essex County is the second largest in New York state geographically, behind St. Lawrence County. But it’s the second smallest, population-wise, behind Hamilton County.

That presents some serious challenges with housing enforcement, especially in making sure that homes don’t fall into disrepair.

“Code enforcement alone have been difficult jobs to fill,” said Michael Mascarenas, the Essex County Manager. “You know, the people we have do a really good job, but just finding them and being able to keep up with the enforcement efforts [is a challenge].”

Mascarenas has worked in Essex County government for decades (he’s a former Commissioner of Social Services) and he said it’s frustrating to watch homes become inhabitable and turn into what people call ‘blighted homes’ or ‘zombie properties.’

These are often homes that people don’t live in or pay taxes on, and end up at county tax auction regularly.

“You could see the continued deterioration. You could see the frequent flyers that came auction after auction that people would purchase sight unseen,” said Mascarenas. “You would see them again three years later, and it would just be in worse condition than it was previously.”

That’s even more maddening, said Mascarenas, knowing that housing in this area of the Adirondacks is scarce, especially for local workers. Mascarenas says that’s an economic issue, because a local workforce is critical to Essex County’s number one economic driver: tourism.

“In the park, you need a certain workforce to be able to accommodate those visitors, and those visitors demand service,” said Mascarenas. “Problem is, where do they [the workers] live?”

That question has haunted many Essex County officials. But they thought the county had no direct way to address it.

Harnessing the power of a land bank for Essex County

Back in the spring of 2021, Supervisor of the Town of Essex Ken Hughes heard about land banks for the first time.

“It just bowled me over. I couldn’t believe that something like this existed,” said Hughes.

Land banks have been around since 2011, when The New York State Land Bank Act was passed.

The idea was to help municipalities address vacant and deteriorated properties through nonprofit corporations, approved by the Empire State Development Authority, which have access to special powers and specific state funding.

“This is money just for land banks, that land banks can tap into,” said Hughes. “And for me, that was very attractive because I didn’t want to burden town or county taxpayers directly [long-term].”

Land banks also have the ability to ‘cut the line’ at county property tax auctions. “And so the land bank can take those properties, with county board approval, and then they can use the monies that they receive from New York State to rehab those buildings…and fix them up and get them back into a habitable state,” said Hughes.

So Hughes started doing research. In 2021, in Northern New York, there was just one land bank, in the City of Ogdensburg.

There was nothing in the Adirondacks.

“I wanted to be the first one,” said Hughes. “I wanted to see Essex County be that lighthouse county to show other people that we can do it up here.”

But to do that, Hughes needed to get his colleagues, which was the rest of Essex County’s Board of Supervisors, excited about establishing a landbank. He says that took time, but eventually everyone jumped on the bandwagon, no matter where they fell on the political spectrum.

“There’s no discussion about, you know, ‘I’m a Republican, I’m a Democrat,'” said Hughes of the Essex County Board of Supervisors. “And if there’s a common sense idea that any of us bring to the table, we really come together. We ask questions. We debate civilly…I’m so incredibly grateful that my colleagues on the board at the time were open to the conversation, were convinced that it was a worthwhile and worthy endeavor for their constituents and their towns.”

Building the vision for Essex County and getting start-up money

Hughes says that bipartisan support was critical, especially because it took money to get the land bank started.

The county ended up using a big chunk of their COVID-era funding for that purpose, about $300,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.

“And that gave us our seed. Because we had great ideas, but we had no money,” said Jim Monty. Monty is the recently retired Supervisor for the Town of Lewis and another early supporter of the land bank idea.

Monty had served on a county workforce housing committee earlier in his career and has been dismayed to watch how rising prices have made starter homes unaffordable to local workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of these homes were unaffordable for workforce housing, so a lot of these ended up being short-term rentals, again, depleting the stock,” he said.

There are currently about 2200 registered short term rentals in Essex County, which only has a population of about 37,000.

Monty saw establishing a land bank as a way to make a difference, even if it was small.

And he appreciated that they could write their own rules; land banks get to decide what kind of projects they take on with state funding, and who they are willing to sell to.

In Essex County, they focus on people making between 80 percent and 120 percent of Area Median Income. Think a single person making around $55,000 dollars a year.

“We contacted a lot of the other land banks and tried to figure out what works from everybody. And then we pieced it all together for us, in Essex County,” said Monty.

Finding a leader at an existing organization

So they had the vision, they even had start-up money. But they still needed someone to lead the actual work.

Ken Hughes remembers getting to a point where he started to think, “…maybe we have to create our own nonprofit organization, and we have to form our own board of directors and all this kind of stuff.”

Then, one day at a Essex County Board of Supervisors meeting in Elizabethtown, Hughes remembers Jim Monty pulling him aside to say he wanted him to meet somebody after the meeting.

Monty had gotten in touch with Pride of Ticonderoga, a community development program founded back in the 1980s. It had just one fulltime employee: the new director, Nicole Justice Green.

She was in the county building to talk about the land bank idea. Hughes says they pretty much instantly knew that Green was their person. “We struck gold with what she knows and what she does in that organization and her enthusiasm,” said Hughes.

Pride of Ticonderoga already worked with NYS housing programs, and that was a big leg up from creating a land bank from scratch.

“So that experience on the other side of the work…meant that we didn’t really need a lot of training to enter into this world,” said Executive Director Nicole Justice Green.

For Green, the land bank idea was a chance to make a difference in an area she knew there was a need.

“We would have people call us looking for housing. We would have people call us because they were unhoused,” she remembered of her early days leading up Pride of Ticonderoga. “And at the time, Pride didn’t have that funding…to be creating housing. That wasn’t really something we did or ever had done. And so I would remember going home feeling very, very weighted down.”

This was a chance to change that.

The Essex County Land Bank was officially formed in May of 2023, housed within Pride of Ticonderoga, with Nicole Justice Green as Executive Director.

Lucky timing and the first project

In a stroke of good luck, not long before the Essex County Land Bank was officially formed, the New York State Homes and Community Renewal office had just released a new pot of money, called Land Bank Initiative Funding, which was for land bank administration and projects.

That was a really big deal, said Green, because “creating a new funding source at the state level is like almost an act of God!”

The funding was also particularly easy to access and had fewer rules on how it could be spent. “So it was very fortuitous that all happened at the same time,” said Green, “because it meant that for small rural communities, the cost burden of creating and operating a land bank was made almost negligible for them.”

The Essex County Land Bank started small, and it started slow.

In its first year, it rehabilitated one house in the Town of Jay, plucked from the tax foreclosure auction.

Pride of Ticonderoga, which is now called the North Country Rural Development Coalition, had never done a full gut and rehab job on a standing home. Green says there were lots of challenges, from finding contractors to unique sewer issues to simple waste removal.

“Even if there’s not hazardous material, we have to ship it out of the county,” said Green, because there’s no landfill in Essex County. “So it means that the cost of our demolitions are the highest in New York State.”

But they got through it, and sold the home to a young, locally working couple with an infant.

Former Supervisor of Lewis Jim Monty said that was a big moment. “The look on their faces, this young family with a young child that potentially can get in a home that they might not have been able to afford. It warms your heart. It gives you a good feeling.”

Picking up steam and building new homes

In 2025, the land bank demolished four blighted properties, making room for new homes to be built, and rehabbed three homes.

It also partnered with the state to build a modular starter home in Newcomb, something they plan to replicate going forward. The land bank is doing predevelopment work for more of those homes, potentially dozens, in Westport, Chesterfield, and North Hudson.

The Essex County Land Bank is also the partner on a 60-unit workforce housing apartment building that was recently awarded just under $10 million dollars in state funding.

Green says as she and her team gain experience, it’s getting easier, and that makes all the difference when building affordable workforce housing. “It’s going to be just continuing this momentum. The state’s given us the resources to do it and so it’s our job to deliver,” said Green.

Regional studies have shown that thousands of units of workforce housing are needed in the Adirondacks. The Essex County Land Bank can’t provide all of those.

But they’re moving the needle, said Green, and it gives the county the power to take action. “The Land Bank is not the be-all and end-all for this crisis, but we do have a really unique toolbox.”

There are plenty of challenges ahead. A recent court ruling changed the way counties can acquire blighted properties. The Adirondack Park continues to be a hard place in which to develop and build.

Still, the Essex County Land Bank exists, and it’s saving and building housing. That’s a win, says County Manager Michael Mascarenas. “They’ve done an amazing job, much better than I ever hoped.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

Detroit Vacant Lots: Land Bank Inventory & Neighborhood Impact

Posted on by Ashley Shepherd

One Community Update
February 24, 2026

Source: news-usa.today

Detroit is undergoing a quiet transformation, one marked not by new construction, but by absence. Across the city, thousands of vacant lots—the remnants of homes demolished in the wake of economic decline and population loss—dot the landscape. As of December 8, 2025, the Detroit Land Bank Authority’s inventory is overwhelmingly comprised of these empty spaces, with tens of thousands still awaiting redevelopment or repurposing. This evolving urban terrain raises questions about the future of Detroit’s neighborhoods and the challenges of rebuilding a city scarred by decades of disinvestment.

The sheer scale of the vacant land is striking. On Hazelridge Street, residents like Ken Dixon have taken it upon themselves to maintain some of these lots, creating small oases amidst the urban decay. Dixon’s efforts and those of others like him, highlight a community desire for positive change, even in the face of widespread abandonment. But what systemic factors have led to this situation, and what are the long-term implications for Detroit’s residents?

The demolition of homes, a visible sign of the city’s struggle, has been ongoing for years. On April 7, 2025, the City of Detroit Construction and Demolition Department was actively working to remove blighted structures on Alpine Street. While necessary to address safety concerns and eliminate hazards, these demolitions have contributed to the growing number of vacant lots. What responsibility does the city have to ensure these spaces are not simply left to languish?

The presence of large swaths of vacant land also speaks to broader patterns of ownership and investment. In some areas, like the triangular section bounded by Charest Street, Jerome, and East McNichols, ownership has been concentrated in the hands of a few entities, such as the Moroun’s Crown Enterprises, as of September 5, 2023. This concentration of ownership can hinder redevelopment efforts and perpetuate cycles of decline. Could more equitable land distribution policies help revitalize these neighborhoods?

The Broader Context of Urban Vacancy

Detroit’s experience with vacant land is not unique, but the scale is particularly pronounced. Many post-industrial cities across the United States grapple with similar challenges, stemming from economic shifts, population decline, and historical patterns of segregation and disinvestment. However, Detroit’s story is also one of resilience and potential. The city has seen pockets of revitalization in recent years, driven by entrepreneurs, artists, and community organizations. The question remains whether these efforts can be scaled to address the systemic issues underlying the problem of vacant land.

Addressing the issue of vacant lots requires a multifaceted approach. Strategies include land banking, community land trusts, and incentivizing development through tax breaks and zoning changes. Engaging residents in the planning process is crucial to ensure that redevelopment efforts align with community needs and priorities. The future of Detroit’s neighborhoods depends on finding innovative solutions to transform these vacant spaces into assets that benefit all residents.

For more information on urban revitalization strategies, consider exploring resources from the Enterprise Community Partners and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

Troy Land Bank Hosts Ribbon Cutting at 834 River Street

Posted on by Safeguard

One Community Update
February 27, 2026

Source: troyrecord.com

The Troy Community Land Bank hosted an open house and ribbon cutting to showcase the completion of the rehabilitation of 834 River St., a three-unit affordable housing property that will remain under Land Bank ownership.

The Land Bank invested $350,000 to fully rehabilitate the building, creating three “high-quality” residential units at a cost of less than $140 per square foot. Funding for the project was provided through the New York State Land Bank Initiative, administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).

Statewide, New York has invested more than $160 million in 31 Land Banks to revitalize derelict properties and create affordable housing.

“Thanks to Governor (Kathy) Hochul, New York is investing in Land Banks across New York that are revitalizing derelict properties while providing safe, stable, affordable housing,” New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said in a press release. “With this $350,000 investment from the Land Bank Initiative, this 19th-century rowhouse on River Street can shine once again and provide homes to three families.

“HCR looks forward to continuing to work with the Troy Community Land Bank to revitalize neighborhoods one structure at a time and provide places for city residents to call home.”

Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello expressed her excitement regarding the completion of the project, citing that affordable housing for working families and young professionals is important to city growth.

“We always say we’re a model,” she said. We feel we’re doing it right.
If you look at the pictures before and after, this shift shows what commitment, perseverance, and partnerships can really do for restoration of old buildings, old homes, so they don’t end up getting demoed. It’s all about restoring our older buildings back here in Troy, and this is a great modeling sample.”

The apartment units include renovated bathrooms, two bedrooms, and in-unit washer and dryers, as well as a dishwasher. Land Bank Executive Director Brad Lewis said rent will remain affordable since the Land Bank will retain ownership of the property.

“We’re empowered by our enabling legislation to do (this project), and given my background in properties, I thought it would be a good step moving forward that the Land Bank would own the property and rent it so we can control the property, make sure it doesn’t fall back into disrepair and make sure that the people are taken care of that live here,” he said. “Those sorts of things are priorities to us, and on top of that, we will earn rent, which will help us fix more buildings in the neighborhoods.”

The project is part of the Troy Community Land Bank’s broader effort to return vacant and underutilized properties to productive use. In 2026, the organization is advancing 33 housing projects across the City of Troy, including major rehabilitations, new construction, and owner-occupied housing support, according to a press release.

Council President Sue Steele was also present at the ribbon cutting, and expressed her excitement that the property will soon be inhabited.

“(The Land Bank has) done a terrific job of transforming this to make three wonderful homes for three families,” she said. “The neighbors around here are thrilled about it, because it’s a vacant building that will soon be habitant. We need more affordable housing in Troy, and so this is just one more towards that goal.”

Mantello added that the project is a significant investment not only regarding housing, but also will further other goals for the city, such as incentivizing more businesses to open in the neighborhood.

“In this particular neighborhood, one of our lowest income neighborhoods, (there) is certainly a need for workforce housing, affordable housing, where folks can invest here in North Central and the city,” she said. “It’s a great partnership with HCR, with the Land Bank, and with the neighborhood.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Evaluating Demolition Funds for Tornado-Damaged Properties in St. Louis

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
March 4, 2026

Source: www.stlpr.org

The Federal Emergency Management Agency told St. Louis it will not pay for most building demolitions the city wanted covered.

In a February letter obtained by St. Louis Public Radio, the federal agency said it would not reimburse the city for demolishing several kinds of buildings that are common in the tornado’s path, including vacant properties condemned before the tornado and properties where the owner also owns other properties.

“If we look at the total amount of damaged properties that are likely needing demolition, we estimate that maybe 20% of it will be eligible under the interpretations of this letter,” St. Louis Chief Recovery Officer Julian Nicks told STLPR.

FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EF3 tornado ripped through north St. Louis on May 16, damaging an estimated 10,000 properties in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

The city’s correspondence with FEMA shows the city plans to demolish 1,000 buildings that were damaged by the tornado and are considered dangerous.

Mayor Cara Spencer and Nicks asked FEMA to expand eligibility to demolish vacant or condemned buildings in a Dec. 8 letter, arguing that the properties cause a public health and safety threat and therefore qualify for FEMA’s Private Property Debris Removal program.

In a response on Feb. 3, regional FEMA administrator Catherine R. Sanders said demolition of structures condemned before the major disaster would not be eligible for reimbursement, citing a FEMA guidance document that has been in place since the Biden administration.

Nicks would not give specific numbers of buildings that would not qualify but said the city would be releasing that information in the coming days. Without federal funding, Nicks said the city will have to tap either the $100 million of state funding or city funding.

“Every dollar that we don’t get covered by FEMA is a dollar that has to come from somewhere else that can’t be used for all those other purposes that we know are much needed in our recovery,” Nicks said.

A state bill passed not long after the tornado allocated roughly $100 million in funding toward recovery efforts in St. Louis, but the city has not used that money. Currently, legislators are considering allocating an additional $86 million as part of the state supplemental budget.

The February letter from FEMA also laid out other guidance that could disqualify large numbers of St. Louis properties for demolition reimbursement. The federal agency defines private residential properties as buildings with four or fewer units. It does not cover commercial structures and considers multiple structures owned by the same entity to be commercial, regardless of the number of units.

That would include landlords with multiple properties in the tornado area, or families living in multiple homes that are all owned by one person.

This policy is designed to require people with means to pay for their own repairs. But Nicks said it presents a specific challenge in north St. Louis for families that inherited their homes and act as a caretaker for more than one property.

Nicks said this new information would not change St. Louis’ timeline to start working on demolitions. The city still plans to start broader-scale demolitions in March and ramp them up over the next few months.

“From my standpoint, I don’t care what FEMA wants to fund, what FEMA doesn’t want to fund,” Nicks said. “What we care about is, what does a holistic recovery look like for people who are impacted by the tornado? For most of ours, that’s not demo and debris, it is repair.”

The FEMA Private Property Debris Removal program is being handled by Missouri, and the state is still selecting a company to do that work.

According to STL Recovers’ demolition dashboard, around 361 requested demolitions are being examined for their total scope of work. The state is contracting out around 96 demolitions and the city 55. Ten months after the tornado, the city has completed only 31 demolitions, Nicks told STLPR.

In total, the city received roughly 4,200 applications for a variety of different property assistance related to tornado damage. That can vary from demolitions and debris cleanup to repairs. However, the city’s repair program has also struggled to take flight as officials try to “build an airplane while it’s flying,” Nicks said.

Meanwhile, city residents complain that the pace of recovery in north city is slow. At recent town halls and committee meetings, residents appeared in force calling for St. Louis to do more for the tornado-impacted area, even calling for Spencer and the Board of Aldermen to tap into the roughly $280 million of Rams settlement money.

Nicks, Spencer and other members of the St. Louis Recovery Office say they understand work has been slow but are confident that in coming months the city will make progress in “visible” ways in the neighborhoods.

“If we want people to believe ‘my neighborhood has a future,’ they have to both believe that they can stay, they have to believe that the properties that are preservable in their area will come back and be populated, and they have to believe that the vacant properties won’t become eyesores the way that LRA properties and other vacant properties have been in a neighborhood,” Nicks said.

The vacant property problem

Vacant properties make up a good deal of the buildings that need to be knocked down. The recovery office estimates nearly half of the buildings that will need demolition were vacant before the tornado, which makes them almost all “universally ineligible” for demolition through FEMA funding.

Nicks said most of those buildings hadn’t been cared for structurally, meaning when the tornado hit they were more likely to be structurally compromised. But, he said that they were still damaged by the tornado in a way that he thought would make their demolition eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

“Condemnation doesn’t mean the building was unsafe before,” Nicks said. “It may have needed braces or investment that could have made it a structurally safe structure that now is a fully collapsed structure. So even then condemnation does not equal ‘it needed demolition pre-tornado.’”

Sanders, from FEMA, said in the Feb. 3 letter that vacant structures that weren’t previously condemned could qualify for FEMA demolition if the tornado made them an immediate health or safety threat.

Vacant properties have long been a thorn in the city’s side. The St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative estimates roughly 22,000 properties in the city are possibly vacant. The collaborative is confident that about 14,000 of those properties are definitely vacant.

In the neighborhoods impacted by the tornado, the collaborative’s data estimates at least 1,787 are vacant.

Tracking vacant properties is a challenge, as the city doesn’t compile the data itself. The collaborative scrapes city data from the building division, the assessor’s office, the Forestry division and the Citizens’ Service Bureau to determine if a property is vacant.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

Q4 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
March 3, 2026

Source: CalculatedRisk Newsletter

Even with the recent weakness in house prices, it is important to note that there will NOT be a surge in foreclosures that could lead to cascading house price declines (as happened following the housing bubble) for two key reasons: 1) mortgage lending has been solid, and 2) most homeowners have substantial equity in their homes.

With substantial equity, and low mortgage rates (mostly at a fixed rates), few homeowners will have financial difficulties.

But it is still important to track delinquencies and foreclosures.

Here is some data on REOs through Q4 2025 …

The dollar value of 1-4 family residential Real Estate Owned (REOs, foreclosure houses) was up 26% YOY from $790 million in Q4 2024 to $998 million in Q4 2025. This is still historically very low, but increasing.

Fannie Mae reported the number of REOs decreased to 4,519 at the end of Q4 2025, up slightly from 4,496 at the end of the previous quarter, and down 23% year-over-year from 5,895 in Q4 2024. Here is a graph of Fannie Real Estate Owned (REO).

This is very low and well below the pre-pandemic levels. REOs are a lagging indicator. REOs increase when borrowers struggle financially and have little or no equity, so they can’t sell their homes – as happened after the housing bubble. That will not happen this time.

Here is some data on delinquencies …

It is important to note that loans in forbearance are counted as delinquent in the various surveys but not reported to the credit agencies.

The percent of loans in the foreclosure process increased year-over-year from 0.45 percent in Q4 2024 to 0.53 percent in Q4 2025 (red) but remains historically low.

From the MBA:

Compared to last quarter, the seasonally adjusted mortgage delinquency rate increased for all loans outstanding. By stage, the 30-day delinquency rate decreased 5 basis points to 2.07 percent, the 60-day delinquency rate increased 16 basis points to 0.92 percent, and the 90-day delinquency bucket increased 16 basis points to 1.27 percent.

The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the fourth quarter was 0.53 percent, up 3 basis points from the third quarter of 2025 and 8 basis points higher than one year ago.

Both Fannie and Freddie release serious delinquency (90+ days) data monthly.

These are mortgage loans that are “three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure”. The recent increase is almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

The pandemic related increase in serious delinquencies was very different from the increase in delinquencies following the housing bubble. Lending standards have been fairly solid over the last decade, and most of these homeowners had equity in their homes – and they were able to restructure their loans once they were employed.

And on foreclosures …

ICE reported that active foreclosures are still very low but have increased recently.

While foreclosure activity remains low by historical standards, 2025 saw about 401,000 loans referred to foreclosure, up 25% year over year and the highest annual total since 2019.

December alone brought 40,000 foreclosure starts, the third-highest monthly tally of the year, with activity picking up noticeably in the final months.

Foreclosure inventory climbed by 47,000 (+25%) in 2025, reaching its highest level since 2023, driven by a sharp rise in FHA loans entering foreclosure (+59%).

Foreclosure sales also moved higher, with 80,000 sales in 2025 (+17% YoY) — the biggest volume since 2019 — and 2,100 sales in December, up 41% from last year.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Delinquency Rate Increased in January

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
February 26, 2026

Source: CalculatedRisk Newsletter

In general, single family delinquency rates are low.

Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in January was 0.60%, up from 0.59% December. Freddie’s rate is down year-over-year from 0.61% in January 2025. The December delinquency rate is at the pre-pandemic level of 0.60%.

Freddie’s serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.17% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

Fannie Mae reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in January was 0.59%, up from 0.58% in December. The serious delinquency rate is up year-over-year from 0.57% in January 2025, however, this is below the pre-pandemic lows of 0.65%.

The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 5.59% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.32% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

These are mortgage loans that are “three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure”. Mortgages in forbearance are being counted as delinquent in this monthly report but are not reported to the credit bureaus.

For Fannie, by vintage, for loans made in 2004 or earlier (1% of portfolio), 1.44% are seriously delinquent (up from 1.42% the previous month).

For loans made in 2005 through 2008 (1% of portfolio), 2.07% are seriously delinquent (up from 2.03%).

For recent loans, originated in 2009 through 2025 (98% of portfolio), 0.54% are seriously delinquent (up from 0.53%). So, Fannie is still working through a handful of poor performing loans from the bubble years.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

Lucas County Treasurer Creates Two New Programs to Help Tackle Dilapidated, Delinquent Homes

Posted on by Safeguard

One Community Update
February 2, 2026

Source: abc13.com

The Lucas County Treasurer is launching a program she says could turn tax-delinquent properties into a source for economic development.

Tax delinquency sometimes goes hand in hand with abandoned and run-down properties.

Lucas County Treasurer Lindsay Webb is launching two new programs to help get delinquent problem properties back on the market and revitalized.

People often approach Webb asking about foreclosing on blighted homes.

“If I’m at a block watch meeting, sometimes when I’m at the grocery store, or on Facebook, any number of places,” Webb said.

Now there is a formal process online: the Treasurer Request program.

Lucas County residents can report properties that are tax delinquent and have a negative effect on the community. Webb may not foreclose on every property submitted, but she will always review the request.

“If foreclosure is the right tool, it’s a tool I’m willing to use,” Webb said.

The second new initiative is the Foreclosure Request program.

Webb says it’s a tool for economic development, and goes a step further than the treasurer’s request.

She used an example of a business owner located next door to a dilapidated house they want cleaned up.

Through Foreclosure Requests, the business can put their money where their mouth is and commit to cleaning it up themselves if it goes up for sale.

It’s not just for business owners. Anyone can submit a vacant or underused tax delinquent property they want to purchase. If approved for foreclosure, approved purchasers need to put down a $5,000 deposit per parcel to cover foreclosure-related costs and commit to bidding on it at the Sheriff’s Sale.

According to the Lucas County Treasurer’s website, the opening bid at the Sheriff’s Sale will include all delinquent taxes, assessments, interest, and court, title, and administrative costs required by law.

The deposits will be refunded once the property is fixed up or if the person who submitted the request does not successfully win at the Sheriff’s Sale.

“If the sheriff’s sale can put tax delinquent property back on the tax rolls and in the hands of good community members and people who care about their surroundings, that’s what I want,” Webb said.

The programs are a part of creating new ways to tackle the blight. Turning an eyesore into a potential neighborhood gem.

The foreclosure request program is launching next month, when Webb says the Sheriff’s Sale moves online.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

FHA Pushes Ahead with Affordable Housing Mission

Posted on by Ashley Shepherd

One Community Update
February 16, 2026

Source: Williamson Herald

The Franklin Housing Authority is continuing its mission of making housing affordable for low-income residents despite changing times.

Derwin Jackson, president and chief executive officer of the FHA, said shifts in investing and federal funding since the COVID-19 pandemic have made things tricky for him and his staff.

“We’ve seen changes in investors and how they’re investing in low-income housing,” he said. “With what we pay on the dollar for tax credits, we’ve gone from getting 90 cents to a dollar down to 84 to 76 cents on the dollar. That means you don’t get as much equity to build housing.”

The FHA accepts Section 8, mainstream, and VASH housing vouchers. It also participates in the Homeless No More rental assistance program, which the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development administers.

The FHA also partners with more than 50 community organizations, including churches, domestic violence shelters, and the 21st District Recovery Court, to find housing for those in need.

Jackson said housing costs are skyrocketing nationwide for both buyers and renters.

“We all know housing is something that is an issue across the country, not just in Franklin,” he said. “Renting houses, those costs have gone up. Costs are sky-high for homeowners. It’s hard to find a place to live.”

Jackson commented that federal and state funds have been cut for family assistance programs that help people get jobs, learn to save, and access other essential services for people in need.

“We see those programs drying up and threatening to be cut,” he said. “But we have to keep hope alive for the people we serve.”

Part of that hope lies in God, Jackson said, as well as advocating for affordable housing needs at the state capitol.

“We need to stand up and make it known what is needed,” he said. “Our elected officials speak for us.”

Jackson said future initiatives include the proposed Bousquet Place development on Fifth Avenue North, which would consist of up to 44 workforce and affordable housing units.

Jackson praised Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, Franklin Mayor Ken Moore, and the city’s alderpersons for their support of FHA, particularly with the Franklin Flats development and other projects.

“I’ve been here 19 years, and they have been such supporters of affordable housing,” Jackson said. “Franklin has done as much as they can.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

Metcalfe Park Program Rescues Foreclosed Homes

Posted on by Safeguard

One Community Update
February 17, 2026

Source: Urban Milwaukee

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a North Side nonprofit, is showcasing the power of resident-led action through its Reclaim and Restore initiative.

Launched in 2025, the initiative was designed to stabilize the Metcalfe Park neighborhood by turning vacant, city-owned foreclosed properties into affordable homeownership opportunities for current residents.

Reclaim and Restore rehabilitates city-owned foreclosed homes and makes them available exclusively to Metcalfe Park residents through a lease-to-own model. Participants lease the homes at an affordable monthly rate for 15 years before assuming full ownership, creating a pathway to long-term housing stability.

The first two homes were transformed through the program in June and October of last year. A third home was completed a few weeks ago. Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said that a fourth house is in the process of being renovated.

“This program is a direct reflection of how community voices add value,” said Milwaukee County Supervisor Marcelia Nicholson in a statement shared at the group’s news conference. “It’s what it looks like when divestment follows community.”

Reclaim and Restore

At an event in late January, the organization unveiled a newly restored five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home on North 33rd Street and revealed the individuals selected through a lottery process to move into the property.

The lucky winners were Shirley and Tyrone Dunn.

The couple have lived just a block away in a rental home for the past eight years. Shirley Dunn, an active community member, said the opportunity represents a chance to remain rooted in the neighborhood they have long called home. Her husband said he also plans to be more involved.

“I’ve watched my wife volunteer for years,” Tyrone Dunn said. “Now I’m going to have to get started.”

Through the lease-to-own program, the Dunns will pay $901 per month for 15 years, after which they will own the home outright.

Community efforts

Ald. Russell Stamper said that the success of Reclaim and Restore is driven by community-centered planning and resident involvement. From identifying properties to shaping program guidelines, neighborhood voices have been central to every step of the process.

“Our neighborhoods showcase not only the history but the future of Milwaukee,” he said. “That’s exactly what the Reclaim and Restore initiative highlights.”

He noted that the initiative not only improves housing stock but also helps prevent displacement by ensuring homes remain accessible to longtime residents.

A blueprint for others

Representatives from the city, state and community organizations attending the announcement event for the initiative described Reclaim and Restore as a blueprint for other cities grappling with vacant properties and housing insecurity.

“This is what leadership looks like,” said state Rep. Margaret Arney (D-Wauwatosa). “The best policies come from the community, and now we have a model for something possible all over the county.”

Fellows from the Legal Defense Fund flew in from Atlanta to see the work being done.

By combining public assets, community leadership and long-term affordability, they said the model demonstrates how neighborhoods can reclaim control of their future.

Danell Cross, executive director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said the first two homes were restored with private donations. Though the organization received grant funding for the current homes being restored, growing interest from residents and housing advocates mean it needs more help to continue to expand, she said.

Cross hopes the initiative will keep strengthening both the housing market and the sense of community in Metcalfe Park.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.