HUD official lauds Lee as a ‘can do’ site
Lee County has led the nation in the resurgence of sales of new homes and rising home prices, HUD Secretary Julian Castro told local officials Thursday.
Castro spent time touring Lee County with stops in Lehigh Acres, where he visited two homes and talked to the owners, who had benefitted from the Obama Administration’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
The program was designed to help homebuyers purchase new and existing homes with the help of the federal government.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, who accompanied Castro on his visits, said the federal government pumped $18 million into Lee County to bring about change and make it possible for residents to buy homes again.
Castro visited with Renette Boudeau in her new home at 1026 Alaska Ave. where she told him how excited she had been to be able to buy the house through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
“I had been renting and the costs were high and I was not going to be able to make it without taking part in the help program from the federal government,” she said.
“It’s been a tremendous program,” Mann said. “It has helped so many people in the county and especially in Lehigh.”
Thousands of homes throughout the Lee County were foreclosed and Lehigh was the main part of the county where dozens of homes being built were stopped, and countless foreclosures took place. Mann said many builders went broke during this time and the jobless rate soared.
Castro said he was aware of the great problems facing the county.
He noted that the Lehigh area was among the first to feel the “enormous amount of foreclosures” in the nation as the Great Recession continued.
“We were on our backs but you can be proud of what you’ve done to help Lee County,” Mann told Castro. “Many of these people who have purchased homes went through the federal program, and we have benefitted greatly being able to help people buy homes again.”
Castro, while posing for photos with owners of the houses that he visited, said “It’s a fantastic story for the present owners” of new homes.
Later Castro spoke in Fort Myers’s City Hall to a council chamber packed with more than 200 people. Welcomed by Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson Jr, he expressed his gratitude to county officials, including Mann.
While at City Hall, Castro introduced Javanda Sanders of Fort Myers, who is 51 and works for Lee Memorial Health Services. She was able to purchase a home through the federal program and told the audience how happy she was.
“I’m a little nervous up here talking, but the government program helped me out tremendously,” she said.
Castro said the county and Lehigh Acres had a “can do” attitude and he knows the area will continue to improve.
“I was told about the planned programs in Lehigh for the planned activity centers and revitalization for Lehigh and other areas in the county,” Castro said.
“I love the community spirit here; your confidence in the future is tremendous and I know this area will prosper. Your community seems more vibrant than most places and what you are doing is a tremendous thing for other parts of the country to follow.”
Cape Coral was among the hardest-hit areas in the country. Between 2007 and 2010, overall property valuation dropped 55 percent here in three years, more than 25 percent in 2010 alone.
The city also was among the worst in the nation for foreclosures during the real estate bust.