In this age of foreclosures, what happens to properties that are abandoned or vacant? Listen to a real estate finance expert discuss his research on the local laws governing these properties in this installment from the Perspectives on Real Estate podcast series.

What is the eventual cost to taxpayers of government programs that offer tax breaks and mortgage guarantees? In the latest installment in the Perspectives on Real Estate podcast series, an Atlanta Fed economist discusses his research into the subject.

Dowell Myers, a professor at the University of Southern California, discusses the role of demographic forces on the housing market. Myers expands on remarks he made at the February 2012 Atlanta Fed immigration forum The Great Immigration Turnaround: New Facts and Old Rhetoric.

Bradley Kading, president and executive director of the Bermuda Association of Insurers and Reinsurers, discusses risk in the home insurance market and the rising cost of property insurance. This podcast elaborates on Kading's remarks at the December 2011 Atlanta Fed conference Exploring Impediments to a Real Estate Recovery: A Policy Discussion.

Ann Hambly, president of 1st Service Solutions, discusses today's challenging credit environment. In this podcast, Hambly elaborates on her remarks at the December 2011 Atlanta Fed conference Exploring Impediments to a Real Estate Recovery: A Policy Discussion.

Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic, gives us a better sense of negative equity conditions in the U.S. housing market. Fleming expands on remarks he gave at the December 2011 Atlanta Fed conference Exploring Impediments to a Real Estate Recovery: A Policy Discussion.

Axiometrics president Ron Johnsey discusses the current state of the multifamily real estate market. He outlines trends, challenges, and opportunities facing the apartment sector.

Sally Gordon, managing director at BlackRock Inc., discusses the role that the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market plays as a supplier of financing to the commercial real estate market, how that market has been affected by the financial crisis, and what to expect going forward from commercial real estate finance.

Scott Muldavin, executive director of the Green Building Finance Consortium, discusses valuation and underwriting of green real estate development. This podcast recaps the highlights of Muldavin's closing keynote speech at the March 2011 conference, Strengthening the Green Foundation: Research and Policy Directions for Development and Finance, hosted by the Atlanta Fed and Tulane University.

Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary of policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, discusses energy-efficient housing and the role of public and private sector finance. This podcast recaps the highlights of Assistant Secretary Bostic's opening keynote speech at a March 2011 conference called Strengthening the Green Foundation: Research and Policy Directions for Development and Finance hosted by the Atlanta Fed and Tulane University.