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A Foreclosure Fiasco
Home foreclosures continue to be a problem in most Massachusetts communities in 2008, and many economists expect it's only going to get worse. We visit one city where foreclosures are blamed for destabilizing neighborhoods and harming the local economy. Is it (as one analyst says) a "perfect storm," where the housing market slump, the credit crunch and predatory lending have combined to create a wave of debt and abandoned buildings?
Guests:
- Barry Bluestone, director of Northeastern University's Center for Urban and Regional Policy
- Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces
- Jeremy Shapiro, president of Foreclosuresmass.com
- Susan Renfrew, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors
- Bruce Marks, CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America