Towns Taking A Beating From Foreclosure Boom

The following links are to recent stories on towns that are taking a beating as a result of the real estate bust / foreclosure boom:

• Suburban Phoenix, Arizona (Queens Creek): Boom, Bust in Area Beset by Foreclosures (The Associated Press - 10-6-07),

• Lawrence, Massachusetts: As foreclosures widen, a neighborhood erodes (Crisis tests many in north Lawrence) (The Boston Globe - 10-7-07),

• Cleveland, Ohio (Slavic Village): The Shadow of Debt (Slavic Village Is Fast Becoming a Ghost Town. It's Not Alone) (The Washington Post - 9-30-07) (if link expired, try here).

• New York City (Far Rockaway, Queens): Risky Loans Help Build Ghost Town of New Homes (The New York Times - 9-24-07) (if link expired, try here).

• Stockton, California: "Strange And Sad And Worrying" (CBS News Blog - 10-8-07) ("Houses that sold briskly as recently as a year ago for $400,000 to $600,000 now sit empty and abandoned. And there are lots of them.")

• Providence, Rhode Island: Foreclosures threaten Providence neighborhoods’ vitality (The Providence Journal - 10-14-07).