Government Plans Jobs By Converting Repossessed Homes into Rental Units

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

In a move that would change a big chunk of the real estate market, and beyond, the federal government is currently pushing a plan to transform repossessed homes into rental units. The move would also be an integral part of the job creation component to The Center for American Progress’s plan to turn around the financial crisis and its aftermath in the job market.

The think tank is proposing a series of renovations for all repossessed homes that would convert them into rental units that would eventually be sold to third-party entities. The move would definitely aid Las Vegas’ troubled housing scene seeing as it holds the nation’s leading spot for foreclosures. The targeted homes will be those that had mortgages with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration or the Veteran’s Administration and now count as government repossessed, the Las Vegas Sun reports.

Leaving the realm of wishful “think-tank”-ing, the Strip’s housing reality hasn’t been looking great for the past few years, but lately there have been some indicators that point toward a milder fall, if not a full-blown recovery.

The recently released Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show that June improved the city’s track record with home prices, but only just. June saw the city’s first price rise of the last eight months, putting an end to a prolonged slide. However, compared to May’s 0.9 drop, June’s 0.1 price increase is nothing to be excited about. The housing market will take every sign of recovery it can get, and Las Vegas is by far the needy child.