418391 external_news 1435162390 1475893655 The housing rebound may have lifted home prices across much of the nation. But cities like Lithonia, Ga., are still waiting for the bounce. Along with other communities in the Atlanta area, the small working-class suburb saw prices run up during the housing boom a decade ago, followed by an epic bust. While nearby wealthier areas are now rising, or even fully recovered, poorer towns such as Lithonia are stuck with a housing crisis that drags on. A decade ago, Lithonia seemed like a city on the rise. A new shopping mall opened in 2001. In 2006, a home builder started construction on the first new subdivision in the town in years. An Atlanta-based developer proposed constructing an amusement park a short drive away. When home prices started to drop, however, most of those plans were canceled or put on hold. The homes that did get built, originally priced between $170,000 and $220,000, are now worth $150,000 at most, according to Zillow estimates. Construction on a hotel at the mall was stopped after the crash; now trees sprout through the base of the building’s shell. Many underwater homeowners have stopped investing in their homes, says Dan Immergluck, a Georgia Tech School of City & Regional Planning professor who has studied the issue. That has contributed to the cycle of falling home prices and deteriorating housing stock.

]]> 2015-06-23 1224