• Milwaukee's Housing Crisis: Housing Affordability and Mortgage Lending Practices

  This report uses recently released American Community Survey (ACS) 2006 census data to analyze spending for housing costs compared to household income for renters and homeowners, charts changes since 2000 for Milwaukee and 9 other major Midwest cities; uses Home Mortgage Disclosure Act HMDA data from 1993 through 2006 to gauge present subprime mortgage lending activity, maps intensity of subprime and high-cost lending in Milwaukee County, and analyzes disparities in lending by race and location; offers an update on continuing high-risk mortgage lending zipcode 53206, Milwaukee's poorest neighborhood.

• Legal Action of Wisconsin Report on Milwaukee's Housing Crisis: Foreclosures, Evictions, and Subprime Lending

  This report examines 1992-2007 increases in Milwaukee County foreclosure cases, monthly eviction cases filed with small claims court, and housing properties for sale at sheriff's auction. HMDA data (1993-2006) is used to track mortgages issued to homeowners with less than $30,000 annual household income, increases in the size of mortgages issued subprime loans by neighborhood, and increases in City of Milwaukee property tax assessments in the innercity. Census 2000 data is used to detail the amount that households in Milwaukee County are spending on housing (including mortgage, rent, insurance, utilities and property taxes) and those spending 50% or more of their income for housing.

• Legal Action of Wisconsin Report on Mortgage Lending Practices in Milwaukee County: Part Two

  This study for Legal Action examines subprime, high-cost and regular housing loans by type (home purchase, refinancing, and home repairs), owner-occupants and investors/landlords, single vs. 2-person loans. The growth of subprime lending in Milwaukee County is tracked from $8 million in 1993 to $1 billion in 2005 and mapped by neighborhood. Over 90 subprime lendings are selling mortgages in Milwaukee County and their activity ($9.1 billion in loan applications and $2.5 billion loans in 3 years) is shown by individual company.

• Background on Ameriquest Mortgage Activity in Milwaukee County: 2003-2005

  Ameriquest, the second largest subprime lender in Milwaukee County, has agreed to provide settlement payments to its borrowers and change its lending practices as a result of a settlement with Wisconsin and 48 other states. This report details the detail Ameriquest activity in Milwaukee County (2003-2005), where Ameriquest reported over $2.2 billion in loan activities and $350 million loans, of which 97% were refinancing loans. The location of loans is mapped for the county.

The Employment and Training Institute has been tracking employment and economic trends in the 53206 zipcode neighborhood, which serves as a bellwether for poverty changes in Milwaukee. Housing and lending activities in the neighborhood are analyzed using the federal HMDA files, state income tax records, city property files, and census employment data.

• New Indicators of Neighborhood Need in Zipcode 53206: Neighborhood Indicators of Employment and Economic Well-Being of Families, Barriers to Employment, and Untapped Opportunities

  The report includes a list of subprime lenders operating in the neighborhood and an analysis of housing loans (1993-present) by type (new purchase, refinancing, home equity), borrower (landlord or owner-occupant), and category (subprime, high-interest rate, other). The indicators reveal interrelationships between high rates of incarceration for the male population, the reliance of many families on single-parent lower-income wage earners, the availability of subprime loans, and increases in market prices (and property taxes) for single family and duplex houses. Neighborhood assets include a relatively high rate of home ownership for single family houses, untapped retail spending, the growth of child care businesses, increases in individuals reporting self-employment businesses, and government supports for families (including child care subsidies, earned income tax credits, FoodShare benefits, and medical assistance coverage).

Related News Coverage

Renters Caught in Middle of Mortgage Mess by Felicia Thomas-Lynn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

More Milwaukeeans Vulnerable to Soaring Housing Costs, UWM Study Shows by Laura L. Hunt, UWM Reports.

Faces of Foreclosure 53206 by Michele Derus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Evictions Grow Familiar: As Foreclosures Rise, Days Include Unhappy Surprises for Families by Michele Derus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Loans Sinking Borrowers, Lenders: High-Risk Mortgage Firms Paying Price as Foreclosure Filings Rise by Michele Derus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Housing Crisis Hits Midwest Hard: Foreclosures on the Rise Amid Lagging Economy in Region by Tim Jones, Chicago Tribune (November 4, 2007).

Renters Are Latest Victims of Subprime Mortgages by Dennis A. Shook, Shepherd Express (Nov. 29, 2007).

Foreclosures Hit ZIP Code 53206 the Hardest: Near North Side Families Are Losing Their Homes by Dennis A. Shook, Shepherd Express.

Foreclosure Counseling May Not Help in Current Crisis: Too Little, Too Late, for Some Mortgage Holders, by Dennis A. Shook, Shepherd Express.