YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, along with several partners has put together a study on the "health and stability" of the neighborhoods in the city of Youngstown. 

YNDC says the hope of the study is to determine what impact they, and other groups, are having on the city's neighborhoods. 

The data in the study picked up from 2014-15, when the first neighborhood action plans were completed. 

"We're seeing some encouraging signs in that we're not just fighting to remain stable anymore, we've actually decreased the number of vacant houses, we are seeing an uptick in home values and we are seeing a slowing in the rate of new vacancy particularly in the action plan areas," explained Ian Beniston, the executive director of YNDC.

Some of the highlights from the report state that vacancy has decreased dramatically citywide, from 3,927 vacant structures in 2014 to 2,226 in 2018.

In addition, new vacancies have reportedly slowed according to the research, which states that between 2008-2014 approximately 278 structures became vacant citywide each year, but between 2014-2018 only 25 structures became vacant each year in all action plan areas combined.

The report also says that property values have increased significantly, from an average sale price of $35,235 in 2014 in action plan areas to $50,544 in 2018.

Where Neighborhood Action plans were put into place, YNDC says homeownership rates stabilized, whereas city-wide the rate of homeownership declined. 

Similarly, in areas where YNDC and the Mahoning County Landbank intervened the rate of property tax delinquency decreased in half of them. The data says property rate delinquency was on the rise for the city as a whole, however. 

YNDC credits working with its partners in creating detailed neighborhood action plans.

"We're able to create a prioritized list that in this particular neighborhood in Lincoln Knolls or in Crandall Park or in Idora these are the top 25 properties we need to address. We address them through whatever strategies we put in place and then we move to the next 25 and we keep doing that which is how we achieve those results," Beniston said.

They've been demolishing blighted properties, working on code enforcement, and renovating.

"These are very encouraging signs, I think the other thing I would say is we still have tremendous work to do, this is just the beginning," he said.

The data from the study compares specific neighborhoods, potentially spotting those that need renewed help. 

For instance, the report identified that the Taft neighborhood has the lowest rate of homeownership as of 2018 (45.2%) a decline of nearly 11%. 

Meanwhile, Cornersburg has the highest rate of homeownership in the city- 85.7%. 

The report also identifies the Greater McGuffey neighborhood as having the most vacant homes in 2014 and in 2018 (from 216 to 116). The Lincoln Knolls neighborhood saw the greatest decline in vacant homes, decreasing from 47 in 2014 to 11 in 2018. 

The Greater McGuffey neighborhood also has the highest rate of delinquent tax properties, according to the report, with 2,912 delinquent properties in 2018. 

However, it was the Brownlee Woods neighborhood that saw an 18% spike in delinquent properties from 2014 to 2018. 

Crime across the city was down 14% according to the information from the study. However, the Rocky Ridge neighborhood saw an increase in reported crimes. 

In addition, Rocky Ridge and the Upper West Side were identified as the neighborhoods with the most crimes reported. 

The Taft neighborhood saw the biggest decrease in crime, with a 29.6% drop in reported crimes. 

The report also singles out the rising home values, pointing out that the Greater McGuffey neighborhood had an average MLS home sale price of $6,152.84 in 2014. The average MLS price of a home there in 2018 was $24,982.00, representing a 306% change. 

The Taft neighborhood has the lowest MLS average sale price, at $14,455.67. 

The full report can be read below: