Housing Sites
- By Bryant Jordan, Heather B. Hayes, Heather Harreld
- Apr 24, 2000
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has also made e-commerce
work for the agency. Public housing is HUD's business, and the agency has
created an online realty store, where people can come to shop for and bid
on HUD-owned homes.
Buyers can find homes listed by state and city by clicking on the HUD
home page's "Own a Home." For example, clicking on Maryland and then checking
Annapolis will pull up five homes, including a four-bedroom, two-and-half
bath house on 607 Shipjack Court with a list price of $118,000.
At the HUD site, consumers may subscribe to regular e-mail listings
of HUD, Department of Veterans Affairs and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
homes that come up for sale. The site will become even more interactive
in July, when HUD will offer online applications for all HUD grants. HUD
offers grants to counter drug abuse in public housing, to rehabilitate housing
projects and to subsidize the health care, meals and other support services
of low-income elderly people living in public housing.
The site also serves as a portal, linking users to other sites that
offer homes for sale, such as Fannie Mae, the FDIC and the General Services
Administration.