The federally sponsored housing market crash: race, finance, and heartbreak in the Pocono Mountains

Abstract

In this paper I argue that the 2008 housing market crash was the culmination of a decades-long legislative process enabled by the federal government. I analyze the effects of these policies on Monroe County, Pennsylvania, which became and continues to be the site of one the worst foreclosure crises nationally. Federal policies that promoted decentralization, deindustrialization, and deregulation created the conditions in Monroe County that allowed real estate developers, banks, and brokers to take advantage of an urban crisis that was only 1.5 hours away in New York City—without traffic. I describe the process through the story of real estate developer Gene Percudani. Enabled by the federal government, Percudani lured black and Hispanic residents from New York City who were looking for affordable single family homes, safe neighborhoods, and good schools. Not only did these migrants not escape the urban crisis but continued to be victims of it—far away from home.