New Updates on The Edge - 04/08/2014

New on The Edge

Message from PD&R Senior Leadership:
The Surprising Effects of Gender on Youth Mental Health
A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association uses data from the Moving to Opportunity demonstration to show that relocating to low-poverty neighborhoods affects the mental health of males and females differently. While the research suggests positive mental health outcomes for females, males showed the opposite effects. Two senior leaders at PD&R, Todd M. Richardson, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, and Mark Shroder, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, discuss these findings in the context of other MTO research that seeks to understand why neighborhoods impact males and females in different ways.

In Practice:
Germantown Village Provides Infill Affordable Rental Housing in Dayton
Dayton, Ohio is home to a new development that is helping to meet the need for quality affordable housing opportunities and addressing disinvestment and vacancy in the city’s inner west neighborhood. Germantown Village includes 60 energy-efficient apartments constructed on a previously blighted 4.5-acre site.

Research:
Housing Needs and Socioeconomic Conditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives
PD&R recently released Continuity and Change: Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Housing Conditions of American Indians and Native Alaskans. The interim report is part of the National Assessment of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs. The preliminary findings of the report indicate that although some socioeconomic differences, such as percentage of population under age 18 and married couples with children, between the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and non-AIAN populations have narrowed, significant gaps between the groups persist in the areas of poverty, employment, and housing needs.

Policy Update:
Targeting Strategies for Neighborhood Development
Determining how best to allocate limited funds in neighborhoods with different distress levels and investment needs is a critical component of efforts to combat vacancy and redevelop cities. Strategies are emerging for evaluating degrees of neighborhood distress and targeting responses that reflect a community’s unique market conditions.

Statistical Reports:
March 2014 Housing Scorecard
The March 2014 Housing Scorecard shows continued progress in many key indicators as foreclosure starts continued their downward trend and house prices were stable. Newly initiated foreclosures were down 9 percent from January and 27 percent from one year ago, reaching their lowest level since December 2005. As of January 2014, the FHFA purchase-only house price index was 7.4 percent higher than a year earlier, indicating that prices are on par with those in mid-2005.