Using Neighborhood Data to Support Foreclosure Prevention and Intervention

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Using Neighborhood Data to Support Foreclosure
Prevention and Intervention

Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting March
7, 2009

• MCIC (Metro Chicago Information Center)
• 17 N. State Street, Suite 1600
• Chicago, IL 60602
• www.mcic.org

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MCIC (Metro Chicago Information Center)

• Our purpose
• Nonprofit, independent research and
• consulting firm since 1990
• Our philosophy
• Better information produces better decisions
• Focus on quality of life issues and human needs

Helping those doing gooddo better
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Research and Prevention in Chicago
Regional Homeownership Preservation Initiative
(RHOPI)

• Collaboration between counseling agencies,
  planning entities, financial institutions,
  research organizations and other partners
• Four working groups
• Homeowner/Homebuyer Counseling
• Refinance and Financial Resources
• Foreclosed Properties
• Research.

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MCICs Foreclosure Research

• focus on helping housing counseling
• providers track their own prevention
  strategies
• explore counseling data in the context of
• foreclosure filings
• research in real time

• MacArthur Foreclosure Prevention Initiative
• Fannie Mae cross-site applied research with
• Urban Institute and other NNIP partners

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Tracking Foreclosure Filings

• Challenges with foreclosure data and
  methodological decisions
• What to do with multiple filings?
• How can multiple research and housing
  organizations work from
• the same data set for efficiency and accuracy?
  

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Tracking Counseling and Outreach
Compiled reports provide housing counselors with
an internal tracking system, and provide
MacArthur with a new method investment evaluation
Sample monthly report 20 reports compiled each
month Data aggregated by community area
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Tracking Counseling and Outreach, continued
A deeper look at individual counseling records of
one MacArthur partner organization
Data Source Greater Southwest Development
Corporation
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Putting it all together What have we learned so
far, and how can this research assist housing
counseling agencies?

• Tracking housing counseling and foreclosure
  filings on a broad basis will always be an
  estimate due to data availability and
  standardization issues
• A meaningful and accurate method of quantifiying
  community organization techniques as a tool for
  foreclosure prevention is critical

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Putting it all together, continued
3. Even considering data challenges, monthly
snapshots of foreclosure prevention, intervention
and filings provide a way to start identifying
community trends, and inform counselors of
potential need gaps and outreach opportunities
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Putting it all together, continued

• Analyzing individual counseling data allows for
  deeper exploration of these relationships -
  research that has both programmatic and policy
  implications for housing counseling agencies

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• Anne P. Cole
• Community Development Consultant
• acole_at_mcic.org
• 312.580.2592
• MCIC (Metro Chicago Information Center)
• 17 N. State Street, Suite 1600
• Chicago, IL 60602
• www.mcic.org