Danette O'Neal, PhD

ZOMBIE FORECLOSURES: They were one of the worst blights of the housing crisis: abandoned homes in some state of foreclosure but not yet repossessed by banks and put up for sale. In some neighborhoods there were so many, they took up half a block. In others, they stood out, grass unmowed, trash in the yard, glaring, often dangerous reminders of the worst housing crisis in history. Now, thanks to rising home prices and streamlined foreclosure rules, they are half of what they were just a year ago.Zombie foreclosures now account for just over 1 percent of the 1.5 million vacant homes in the United States, according to RealtyTrac.