Foreclosure Research
Woodstock Institute identifies trends and impacts of the foreclosure crisis and works to limit foreclosures’ negative effects on communities.
October 29, 2013
Communities are struggling to emerge from the devastation of the foreclosure crisis. While our neighborhoods make efforts to recover, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has refused to implement policies proven to protect vulnerable homeowners from foreclosure.
October 15, 2013
How can organizations from different sectors overcome barriers and collaborate to promote a housing market recovery and revitalize communities?
Blog • Two days, four big names
September 24, 2013
For our 40th anniversary, we have secured some incredible keynote speakers you’re sure to enjoy. From a range of backgrounds and expertise, our speakers will make you think differently about the work you do every day.
Press Clipping • Woodstock Institute is turning 40! (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)
September 12, 2013
Forty years ago Aaron and Sylvia Scheinfeld decided to take action since they were unhappy with redlining, predatory lending, and inequality in access to credit and financial services that plagued the Chicago region.
September 4, 2013
A federal court decision dealt a serious blow last week to Chicago's ability to revitalize communities hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
Press Clipping • Black Homeownership Dying Where Obama Revitalized (Bloomberg News)
September 3, 2013
Helene Pearson’s belief in homeownership was shattered in Roseland, the mostly black Chicago neighborhood where President Barack Obama got his start as a community organizer.
August 28, 2013
Governor Quinn signed SB 56, the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act (PTFA), into law last week. Illinois’ PTFA extends basic protections to renters living in buildings that go into foreclosure.
Press Clipping • Chicago housing market experiences drastic turnaround (Housing Wire)
August 21, 2013
Home sales up nearly 32% from last year
August 16, 2013
Is the Chicago region housing market turning a corner? New data we released this week offer some optimism—foreclosure filings, which signify the beginning of the foreclosure process, dropped by more than a third across the Chicago six county region from the first half of 2012 to the first half of 2013.
August 13, 2013
Completed foreclosure auctions remain near record-high levels, new data from Woodstock Institute show
July 25, 2013
Vacant and foreclosed properties in Madison are likely to get a facelift in coming months.The City Council recently approved an ordinance to require financial institutions to inspect, secure and maintain abandoned properties. The measure will require banks, lenders and other financial...
July 19, 2013
Woodstock Institute receives $500,000 to track neighborhood economic indicators and trends
July 19, 2013
Watt passes out of Senate Banking Committee on party-line vote
June 28, 2013
For more than 3 years, I have provided compelling evidence that all the talk about a housing recovery is nonsensical.
June 11, 2013
While some headlines claim that the housing market is recovering, we know that too many homeowners have not.
Press Clipping • Bus Tour Highlights Trauma of Foreclosure, Eviction (DNAinfo.com)
June 9, 2013
ROGERS PARK — Maria Delores Calvillo never expected her house to be a stop on a city bus tour.
Her modest three-bedroom duplex isn't a celebrity's birthplace or the site of some historical event. But on Saturday, her home in Rogers Park was the final stop on a citywide tour of vacant and foreclosed homes, put together by several community groups trying to prevent foreclosures and evictions.
Press Clipping • House Keeping (Chicago Weekly)
June 6, 2013
On most days, the abandoned café at the corner of 75th and Dorchester might as well be any other. In many neighborhoods on the South Side, foreclosed properties like this one aren’t exactly hard to find. Pick a block—almost any block—and you’ll find an empty home, a boarded-up storefront. Maybe both. Maybe more. It’s a story people have long been familiar with.
Press Clipping • Wells Fargo settles foreclosure discrimination claim (MSN Money)
June 6, 2013
Homeowners in certain neighborhoods who lived around foreclosed homes owned by Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp knew the institutions were discriminating against them and their neighbors. Now they're getting some payback.
May 30, 2013
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — More than a dozen housing and consumer advocates, in a letter to a federal judge last week, questioned whether homeowner relief given under the requirements of a nationwide mortgage settlement is being given fairly to borrowers in communities hardest hit by the...
May 23, 2013
Local home prices have stabilized, but one Chicago lender is courting homeowners bracing for another downturn, offering mortgages that come with protection against falling prices. 1st Advantage Mortgage, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Draper & Kramer Inc., debuted a loan this month...
May 23, 2013
The last thing many Chicago neighborhoods need is another abandoned building. Now that Chicago Public Schools is officially closing 50 schools, that means 42 buildings will be shuttered in June. Many dot areas of the city that are already grappling with poverty and seeking economic development...
May 20, 2013
B.J. Tregoning is the reason you can't buy a house right now. Well, not exactly. But homeowners like Mr. Tregoning and his family on the Northwest Side would rather wait for home prices to rise than sell now and take a loss on properties purchased before the market imploded. That mindset...
Press Clipping • 9 Things That Will Trash Your Home's Value (Business Insider)
May 13, 2013
With the real estate market as shaky as it is, homeowners can't afford to deal with more problems. And yet there's always something that pops up –– whether its noisy neighbors or an unfortunately-placed sinkhole. We've rounded up some of the biggest threats to the...
May 13, 2013
Presentation by Spencer Cowan on real estate trends on indicators such as foreclosures, vacant properties, population, and mortgage origination.
May 5, 2013
Woodstock President Dory Rand presented to the KAM Isaiah Israel on causes of inequality in housing, financial services, and retirement security, trends in home equity and outstanding mortgage debt, and how communities of color and low-income families have been particularly hit hard by these...
May 1, 2013
We applaud President Obama’s nomination of Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Rep. Watt is a candidate with strong qualifications in economic policy who understands the issues facing consumers in the financial marketplace. Rep. Watt has served in Congress for 20 years and is a prominent member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he has advocated for affordable housing, fair lending, and consumer protections. In 2009, he co-sponsored the Credit CARD Act that enacted important protections for credit card borrowers.
May 1, 2013
Last week Chicagoans joined a national protest action at the home of Federal Housing Finance Agency director Edward DeMarco, demanding his resignation.On Wednesday, President Obama responded to growing demands to replace DeMarco, naming U.S. Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) as his replacement.“...
Press Clipping • How to avoid zombie mortgages (WGN News)
April 16, 2013
If you’ve ever received a foreclosure notice or thought about walking away from your mortgage, you may think twice after you watch this story.
If you get hit with a foreclosure notice, do not assume that you have to leave your home right away. In Illinois, the process could take up to two years to...
Press Clipping • Women Trail Men in Mortgage Loan Approvals (Credit Unions Online)
March 27, 2013
When it comes to mortgage loan approval rates, a new study says that women are rejected more often than men.
Chicago-based Woodstock Institute found that women were 24% more likely to be rejected for a first mortgage loan and 39% less likely to be approved for a refinance.
The study was based on 58...