Article: Published Jul 16, 2015
Reuse of Abandoned Property in Detroit and Flint: Impacts of Different Types of Sales

When owners stop paying property taxes, a government forecloses on the property. This research compares outcomes after auctions, the common way governments sell tax-reverted property, with outcomes after sales from a city department and a land bank authority. Data on a random sample of sold properties came from field research and administrative sources. Auctions failed in returning property to reuse compared to other ways of selling tax-reverted property. Managed sales led to more owner-occupied homes, additions of side lots to homes and businesses, and redevelopment and reuse as well as fewer returns to foreclosure and less property flipping.

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