Paulding’s housing market continues to struggle, but the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program is beginning to make a modest impact.

Just more than $1 million has been spent on 12 housing units, said Frank Bibb, who is directing the NSP for Northwest Georgia Regional Commission (NWGRC), formerly known as Coosa Valley Regional Development Center. Bibb updated Paulding’s Board of Commissioners yesterday on the program designed to stabilize neighborhoods with high numbers of abandoned or foreclosed homes.

The 10-county NWGRC was awarded $6.5 million in NSP funding in March and was cleared in July to begin obligating funds. Paulding County was allocated $2.5 million of the NWGRC total, and $1,005,102 has been spent, said Bibb.

In Paulding, NSP has bought three houses in Bramlett Meadows subdivision off Ridge Road for a total cost of $373,642, contracted on seven more houses at a total purchase price (not including closing costs) of $515,870, had an offer accepted on a house costing $45,590 and has a $70,000 offer outstanding on one house. NSP was outbid on seven houses and has physically toured and either rejected or is still considering several dozen more, said Bibb.

The program has a signed contract to sell one house for $120,000, with no rehabilitation requested as part of the sale, and has verbal offers on two other houses the program has bought. “We are also working on a down-payment assistance deal in Paulding,” said Bibb.

NSP is allowed five options: acquiring and rehabilitating properties for sale; establishing a land bank, which is not being done here; down-payment financing services; tearing down dilapidated structures; and building new houses, which Bibb predicts won’t be done, with the possible exception of a Habitat for Humanity house.

“The main thrust in Paulding County is acquiring and rehabilitating foreclosed and abandoned homes, which is pretty severe in Paulding County,” he said.

Paulding purchases include a house in Powder Springs, several in Yorkville and six in Silver Ridge off U.S. 278. Federal officials are suggesting purchasing clumped homes in specific neighborhoods to have the greatest impact, Bibb said.

“We haven’t rehabbed any yet; we’re in the acquisition mode at the moment,” said Bibb. “We had a meeting here last week with homebuilders to enroll them to work with rehabilitation; we’re well on the way.

Low-income homebuyers must be targeted with 25 percent of the funds, he said. “We’re working in the south end of the county,” he added.

In the rest of the 10-county region, $985,000 has been spent on 17 housing units, said Bibb.

“We’ve got 10 months to spend the rest” of the $6.5 million allocation, he said; then, as those properties are sold, the proceeds are returned to the account to purchase more homes through March 2013. “I feel we’ll be able to meet our goal,” he said.

“It sounds like we got a majority of money for this area,” said commission Chairman David Austin.

“We see the [housing] market picking up in Paulding County,” said Bibb. “We’re seeing some activity on Ridge Road. Real people are buying real houses.”