From Paul Owers at the Sun Sentinel: Government expands Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative

Below is an excerpt from this article in the Sun Sentinel about an effort to curb blight here in Palm Beach County.

      South Florida housing organizations will be given the chance to buy more than 2,000 foreclosed homes that ultimately could wind up in the hands of individual consumers.
      The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Tuesday said it is expanding its Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative to include Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, as well as 17 other metro areas nationwide.
      Starting Dec. 1, the housing groups can express interest in buying the homes, valued at $175,000 or less, before they are made available to the general public. [emphasis added] The groups will renovate the properties and rent or resell them to residents who meet income qualifications. In some cases, the homes will be demolished and rebuilt.

Interestingly, on pages 120–123 of last night's City of Lake Worth agenda was this item:

Anyone familiar with how badly Lake Worth was affected by the Great Recession knows there are many homes, or what's left of them, that were foreclosed on with almost all of them valued under $175,000. This program will have a huge impact on the City.