Recession takes uneven toll in Lincoln, Neb., and Merced, Califsnip
In Merced, a stroll down Main Street brings little visible evidence of the economic misery that grips the San Joaquin Valley city.
Drive a few miles to the outskirts, though, and the pain comes into focus.
At the big Bellevue Ranch subdivision, entire cul-de sacs look like eerie ghost towns, empty of people.
Rows of homes stand unfinished, their bare wood frames darkened by rain and weather.
An unopened roll of roofing paper rests atop one house, and the clutter of construction debris lies soaked from winter rains, untouched since buyers and workers walked away when the housing bubble burst.
"It was like a bomb went off," says Tom Calton, a retired insurance executive who devotes his time to heling the newly poor through an outreach program at his church, Liberty Fellowship.
"The workers walked away. It happened so quick it was scary. It put people in shock. ... It didn't slow down. It just collapsed."
Today, the Merced metropolitan area (population 246,117) has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, 19.8%.
Merced also has one of the highest foreclosure rates. According to widely published statistics from First American CoreLogic, one in five homes in Merced County was 90 days delinquent in payments as of November 2009.
The impact on property values has been devastating. Home values have dropped 62% since 2006, city spokesman Mike Conway says.
Median home prices dropped from a peak of $337,300 in 2006 to $94,300 at the end of 2009, according to zillow.com, which tracks real estate values.
Cities here in California's fruit and vegetable basket are always dependent on the vagaries of agriculture and see unemployment soar in winter when there's little work in the fields. In this recession, however, the impact has been compounded by the collapse of construction after a frenzied speculative bubble.
In 2005, the city issued 1,444 residential building permits, Conway notes. In 2009, the number was seven.
The collapse of construction has been devastating for Jerry Manning, 48, who made his living designing and selling home kitchens — countertops, cabinets and appliances.
He worked for several construction supply companies and had his own company but saw demand vanish.
"The way the economy went, I just couldn't get any work," says Manning, who has a wife and two teenage sons. "No houses are getting built, and people aren't doing a lot of remodeling."
Manning and his wife gave up the 2005 car they were making payments on, canceled cable TV and accepted the gift of a 16-year-old car.
They live in a rented home and have exhausted their savings, he says. His wife gets a few hours of work each week preparing food for the school system, and he works as a volunteer with Calton's church group, Nineveh Outreach, distributing food.
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