About the Research
WHY WAS THE STUDY CONDUCTED?
The purpose of this research report is to examine and evaluate the impact of Indiana’s Blight Elimination Program on stabilizing property values and reducing foreclosures. Many neighborhoods and communities across the United States have experienced declining property values because of residential, commercial, and industrial abandonment over the last thirty years. This issue has been exaggerated since the Great Recession. The Great Recession—which officially lasted from 2007 to 2009—began with the bursting of an $8 trillion housing bubble. The economic recession and housing crisis have impacted many states and communities throughout the United States and the repercussions for the stability of neighborhoods have been serious. The housing crisis led to unprecedented home price declines, increases in foreclosures and vacancies, and sustained and higher unemployment in certain parts of the country. States located in the Midwest, Pacific Coast and South East were most impacted. (See Figure 1). The US Treasury Department (2015) states, “families in these areas have been particularly hard hit by this crisis as they have struggled to make their monthly mortgage payments and grappled to get out from under deeply underwater mortgages.”
As the nation was on the edge of falling into a second Great Depression, confidence in the financial system was waning, and elected officials and administrators of struggling states and municipalities faced budget constraints and increased threats to neighborhood stability. To address this issue, President Obama’s Administration established the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF).
The purpose of this research report is to examine and evaluate the impact of Indiana’s Blight Elimination Program on stabilizing property values and reducing foreclosures. Many neighborhoods and communities across the United States have experienced declining property values because of residential, commercial, and industrial abandonment over the last thirty years. This issue has been exaggerated since the Great Recession. The Great Recession—which officially lasted from 2007 to 2009—began with the bursting of an $8 trillion housing bubble. The economic recession and housing crisis have impacted many states and communities throughout the United States and the repercussions for the stability of neighborhoods have been serious. The housing crisis led to unprecedented home price declines, increases in foreclosures and vacancies, and sustained and higher unemployment in certain parts of the country. States located in the Midwest, Pacific Coast and South East were most impacted. (See Figure 1). The US Treasury Department (2015) states, “families in these areas have been particularly hard hit by this crisis as they have struggled to make their monthly mortgage payments and grappled to get out from under deeply underwater mortgages.”
As the nation was on the edge of falling into a second Great Depression, confidence in the financial system was waning, and elected officials and administrators of struggling states and municipalities faced budget constraints and increased threats to neighborhood stability. To address this issue, President Obama’s Administration established the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF).
Methodology |
HOW WAS THE STUDY CONDUCTED?
Sagamore Institute’s primary strategy to measure the impact of the Indiana Blight Elimination Program (INBEP), relies on a comprehensive model examining differences in property sale values before and after program implementation. The magnitude of this difference before and after the implementation of the BEP intervention strategy[1] is compared. This difference-in-differences in homes sales/property values is a measure of the impact Indiana's Blight Elimination Program (INBEP) intervention strategies have on neighborhoods. WHERE DID THE DATA COME FROM? The Sagamore Institute study required data sharing and cooperation among the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, the Indiana Gateway open data portal, and RealtyTrac ATTOM datasets. [1] For the purpose of this study proposal BEP intervention strategies refer to the demolition of blighted structures and the adaptive re-use or end use of the blighted property. |
**Disclaimer: The first INBEP awards were made in February 2014 with the first demolitions occurring in August 2014. Blight Elimination Program participants were selected through an application process open to all Indiana communities. The final program awards were made in January 2017. The program will conclude in 2019. As of December 2018, there were 2, 570 demolitions completed. IHCDA Staff anticipate demolitions will continue through December 2020. The Sagamore Institute’s review of INBEP is on-going. In conjunction with figures and data provided by IHCDA and other sources, statistical analysis relies on the availability of data provided by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). The DLGF data is updated on an annual basis. The figures and statistical analysis available on this site will be updated quarterly. The current analysis available at www.inbep.org reflects the data available through December 31, 2018.