Housing stimulus in Obama’s jobs act could face difficulty in SF

President Barack ObamaThe $15 billion housing stimulus in President Barack Obama’s recently proposed American Jobs Act would be a challenge in South Florida thanks to the proliferation of all-cash investors and the extremely tight lending standards, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The program, known as Project Rebuild, calls for grants to various agencies that would use the money to renovate and resell foreclosed homes. Florida could receive as much as $2.7 billion in grants — some of which could go to assist distressed homeowners.

But an existing program with similar intentions, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, has already been used in Florida, including $90 million worth of grants in Palm Beach County, with limited success. Agencies compete with cash buyers for the home, and once renovated they are having difficulty finding buyers who can land a mortgage.

That’s why the program will have to be flexible and adaptive to market realities to work in South Florida, experts said. [Palm Beach Post]