The implosion of the subprime lending market has left a scar on the finances of black Americans --- one that not only has wiped out a generation of economic progress but could leave them at a financial disadvantage for decades.  At issue are the largely invisible but profoundly influential three-digit credit scores that help determine who can buy a car, finance a college education or own a home.  MORE

(Courtesy of Atlanta Business Chronicle): Atlanta has the highest Gini index -- and hence the worst problem with economic inequality -- of any major American city, according to an On Numbers analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.  MORE

PBP partner Enterprise Community Partners offers an in-depth, online selection of publications, reports, toolkits, and recorded webinars related to foreclosure response/neighborhood stabilization and a host of affordable housing and community revitalization issues.  Foreclosure topics include "Using Local Market Data to Support Neighborhood Stabilization" and "Greening NSP Rehabilitation."  MORE

(Courtesy of ULI)The rental sector's run at the top of the housing ladder has more staying power than most observers think, according to industry experts speaking at the National Association of Real Estate Editors' annual conference in Denver. MORE

If you were not one of the 600 plus practitioners and stakeholders in attendance at last month's Center for Community Progress Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference in New Orleans, don't despair.  You can access the presentations from the conference's workshops and training sessions at the Center for Community Progress website.  The Conference has gained a  reputation as one of the nation's leading destinations for those working to transform vacant and abandoned property to productive reuse.  MORE

(Courtesy of NCST) The NSP Mortgage Guide returns to the basics on permanent mortgage financing to help NSP grantees and other housing professionals navigate the current mortgage landscape and design and implement local NSP efforts that increase the successful purchase of NSP properties. The NSP Mortgage Guide also features a compilation of insights and best practices gathered from participants in the HUD-sponsored NSP Mortgage Financing Roundtables led by Enterprise Community Partners and the National Community Stabilization Trust in the summer of 2011.  MORE

(Courtesy of NHC):  PBP partner the National Housing Conference (NHC)  recently announced that Chris Estes will join the 81-year-old housing organization as its new president and CEO effective July 23. Estes is currently the executive director of the N.C. Housing Coalition, a post he has held since 2003. In his new position, Estes will lead NHC's policy and advocacy work both in Washington and throughout the country. He will also work closely with NHC's research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, to make the case for affordable housing and develop effective housing policy solutions.  MORE