FORECLOSURES, INVESTORS, AND UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT DURING THE GREAT RECESSION IN THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA.

ABSTRACT In the wake of the U.S. housing crisis, what has happened to the substantial stock of foreclosed or real estate-owned (REO) properties is only beginning to be understood. The eventual outcomes of these properties are central to our understanding of the varied impacts of the foreclosure crisis, including its contribution to enduring and emerging patterns of uneven development. This article considers the scope and potential impacts of investor purchases of foreclosures in diverse neighborhoods in the Los Angeles region. Overall, findings suggest that very different patterns of investment emerged in the urban core, the postwar inner-ring suburbs, and the exurbs. In addition, investors' purchases and strategies varied significantly according to neighborhood racial composition and, to a much lesser extent, neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. These patterns highlight two major issues: a sharp divide in investment between the relatively similar urban/inner-ring suburban core and the newer exurbs; and the enduring relationship between race and capital investment in neighborhoods in the wake of the housing crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]