Vacant Properties: Growing Number Increases Communities' Costs and Challenges

 The Government Accounting Office – the GAO – has released a report on vacant properties, analyzing costs and consequences for local communities (Community Progress associates assisted in research, along with experts from around the country). GAO was asked to examine trends in the number of vacant properties and how they relate to the recent increase in foreclosures, the types of costs that vacant properties create and who bears the responsibility for these properties and their costs, and state and local government strategies to address vacant properties and the federal role in assisting these efforts. Among their findings: numbers of vacant properties are up nationally to 10 million as of April 2010, with ten states seeing an increase of 70% or more in the last decade. Researchers also determined that local officials and community groups need more funds and increased oversight by federal regulators for core needs – from ensuring that servicers comply with local property maintenance codes to supporting local redevelopment efforts.

Click here to view a summary of the report

Download the full report