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Axios
5 days ago
- Business
- Axios
How investors affect Columbus' housing market
Over 7% of Columbus-area homes sold in Q1 2025 went to institutional investors, straining our already strapped housing market. Why it matters: Investors like hedge funds, private equity firms or real estate investment trusts often buy homes in cash and in bulk — outcompeting average families, especially first-time homebuyers. The big picture: Columbus' share is about 1 percentage point higher than the national rate (6.3%), per a report from real estate firm ATTOM. The data measures entities that purchased at least 10 residential properties in a calendar year. Sales have been trending downward nationally since a pandemic peak, but they're holding steady locally. Between the lines: Markets attractive to investors have strong population and job growth, solid rental yields, landlord-friendly regulations, affordability and long-term appreciation potential, ATTOM CEO Rob Barber told Axios. Columbus is one of the top U.S. markets for "mega investors," per a 2023 Urban Institute study. Zoom in: A recent Dispatch investigation found that six national companies control more than 6,000 Columbus-area homes. The corporate landlords: American Homes 4 Rent, Amherst, FirstKey Homes, Progress Residential, Starwood Capital and Vinebrook Homes. American and Vinebrook have been active here for over a decade and were initially focused on the inner city, while the others entered our market during the pandemic and are targeting suburban neighborhoods. Friction point: Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, told the Dispatch she's concerned investors are inflating prices and limiting inventory. Company representatives noted they own just a fraction of all homes and said they're expanding rental opportunities for families that can't afford to buy in nicer areas. What we're watching: State lawmakers have introduced bills aiming to curb institutional investor activity in recent years but haven't made progress.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CALIFORNIA AND NEW JERSEY LOCALES TOP COUNTIES FACING GREATEST HOUSING MARKET HEADWINDS
Southern counties, led by regions of Tennessee and Virginia, show greatest signs of strength; Home affordability is a challenge almost everywhere, while foreclosures, mortgage health, and unemployment rates vary widely IRVINE, Calif., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its latest Special Housing Risk Report spotlighting county-level housing markets around the United States that are more or less vulnerable to declines, based on home affordability, equity and other measures in the first quarter of 2025. The report shows that California and New Jersey had high concentrations of counties considered most at-risk. The data shows that 23 of the 50 most at-risk markets were in California (14) and New Jersey (9). Risk was determined by affordability, proportion of seriously underwater mortgages, foreclosures, and unemployment rates. In a sign of the robust post-pandemic housing market, the number of foreclosures and proportion of homes with seriously underwater mortgages—meaning the combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property was at least 25 percent more than the property's estimated market value—remained low throughout much of the country during the first quarter of the year. But that stability, combined with several years of aggressive buying, has contributed to escalating prices that make it increasingly hard to purchase a new home in some markets. In 109 of the counties ATTOM analyzed, a typical resident would have to spend more than half of their annual income to cover the down payment, mortgage, and other initial expenses for a median-priced home. "This report highlights a number of market forces that anyone with an interest in their local housing market should keep an eye on," said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. "Affordability is an obvious concern, but as the data shows, there's a complex interplay between price, wages, mortgage health, and foreclosure rates that can give even greater insight into where property values are likely to go in the future." "There's no unequivocal metric that can tell you where it's safe to buy and where it's risky," he added. "But taken together these data points show how different parts of the country are performing." Counties were considered more or less at risk based on the percentage of homes facing possible foreclosure, the portion with seriously underwater mortgages, the percentage of average local wages required to pay for major home ownership expenses on median-priced single-family homes, and local unemployment rates. The conclusions were drawn from an analysis of the most recent home affordability, equity and foreclosure reports prepared by ATTOM. Unemployment rates came from federal government data. Rankings were based on a combination of those four categories in 572 counties around the United States with sufficient data to analyze in the first quarter of 2025. Counties were ranked in each category, from lowest to highest, with the overall conclusion based on a combination of the four ranks. See below for the full methodology. As the summer buying season kicks into full gear amid uncertainty about how tariffs and federal legislation will affect the broader economy, ATTOM's analysis provides a touchstone for potential homebuyers and real estate investors seeking to understand the health of their local market. California had 14 of top 50 riskiest countiesThe three most at-risk counties in ATTOM's analysis—Butte, Humboldt, and Shasta counties—cover regions of Northern California that, in addition to contending with challenging market forces, have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years. Rounding out the top five most at-risk counties were New Jersey's Atlantic and Cumberland counties along the state's southern coast. In previous years, counties surrounding New York City, NY have scored among the riskiest in the nation. But that wasn't the case in the first quarter of 2025. No New York counties landed among the 50 riskiest markets, and although nine New Jersey counties did, they were largely in the central and southern part of the state. Poor affordability and mortgage health characterize riskiest marketsNationwide, the typical purchaser had to spend just under a third of their annual wage (32.5 percent) to afford down payment, mortgage, and other expenses for a median-priced home in the first quarter of 2025. But that affordability measure varied widely by region. Housing expenses as a share of income exceeded the national rate in 59.3 percent (339) of the 572 counties in ATTOM's analysis. In Kings County, NY, initial expenses for a median-priced home consumed 109.5 percent of a typical resident's annual salary. That was followed by Maui County, HI (101.5 percent or the region's typical annual salary); San Luis Obispo County, CA (100.1 percent of a typical salary); Orange County, CA (97.8 percent of a typical salary); and Marin County, CA (97.5 percent of a typical salary). Across the country, 2.8 percent of properties had mortgages considered seriously underwater but 37.8 percent (216) of the 572 counties we examined exceeded that rate and a handful of Louisiana parishes posted double-digit rates of seriously underwater homes. Calcasieu Parish, LA had the highest rate of seriously underwater properties (14 percent), followed by East Baton Rouge Parish, LA (13.7 percent); Caddo Parish (13.4 percent); Rapides Parish, LA (13.1 percent); and Ouachita Parish, LA (12.8 percent). More than one of every 1,000 properties faced a foreclosure action in the first quarter of 2025 in 19.2 percent (110) of the 572 counties. Nationwide, one in every 1,515 homes faced foreclosure. The counties with the worst foreclosure rates were Dorchester County, SC (one in every 434 homes); Johnson County, TX (one in every 463 homes); Highlands County, FL (one in every 472 homes); Cumberland County, NJ (one in every 473 homes); and Kaufman County, TX (one in every 517 homes). The national unemployment rate in March 2025 was 4.3 percent, but once again there was significant regional variation. About a third of the 572 counties had higher unemployment rates, led by Imperial County, CA (16.6 percent unemployment); Tulare County, CA (11.4 percent); Merced County, CA (11.3 percent); Yuma County, AZ (11.1 percent); and Kings County, CA (10 percent). South leads the way with least risky countiesMore than half (27) of the 50 least at-risk counties in the analysis were located in Southern states, followed by 12 from Midwestern states and seven from states in the Northeast. Tennessee led the way with nine counties: Sullivan, Hamilton, Washington, Blount, Sumner, Davidson, Wilson, Knox, and Rutherford. Virginia posted seven counties among the 50 most favorable: Henrico, Prince William, Alexandria City, Arlington, Virginia Beach City, Loudoun, and Fairfax. And Wisconsin had four: Outagamie, Winnebago, Brown, and La Crosse. In addition to Fairfax County, VA, which is in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, several other major metro areas also scored in the top 50. They included Honolulu County, HI; Hennepin County, MN (which encapsulates Minneapolis and St. Paul); and Wake County, NC (which covers Raleigh). Foreclosure and unemployment rates strong indicators of county housing market strengthThe counties that scored in the top 50 least risky tended to be more affordable for prospective buyers than those at the other end of the spectrum, but not by a large margin. A typical resident had to spend less than a third of their annual income to purchase and pay for a new home in 38 percent (19) of the top 50 counties compared to 30 percent (15) of the 50 most risky counties. Among the 50 most favorable counties, the ones with the lowest portion of wages required for home ownership were Madison County, AL (21.4 percent); Sullivan County, TN (21.6 percent); Morgan County, AL (23.3 percent); Midland County, TX (25.6 percent); and Durham County, NC (26.4 percent). Of those top 50 least at risk counties, 44 counties were beating the national rate of 2.8 percent of homes with seriously underwater mortgages. The top counties with the lowest rate of seriously underwater homes were Loudoun County, VA (0.5 percent); Prince William County, VA (0.7 percent); Fairfax County, VA (0.9 percent); Maui County, HI (0.9 percent); and Saratoga County, NY (1 percent). Only one of the 50 least risky counties had a foreclosure filing rate greater than the national average of one in every 1,515 homes (in Shelby County, AL, one in every 1,465 homes faced possible foreclosure in the first quarter of 2025). Among the top 50 counties, the best foreclosure rates were in Arlington County, VA (one in every 17,249 homes); Gallatin County, MT (one in every 11,118 homes); Medina County, OH (one in every 10,815 homes); La Crosse County, WI (one in every 7,605 homes); and Berkeley County, WV (one in every 7,502 homes). Across the board, the 50 least risky counties had unemployment rates below the national rate of 4.3 percent. The best rates were in Minnehaha County, SD (1.9 percent); Gallatin County, MT (2.2 percent); Honolulu County, HI (2.3 percent); Rutherford County, TN (2.6 percent); and Hamilton County, IN (2.6 percent). Report methodologyThe ATTOM Special Market Impact Report is based on ATTOM's first quarter 2025 foreclosure activity, home affordability and underwater property reports, plus March 2025 unemployment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Press releases for affordability, foreclosure and underwater-property reports show the methodology for each.) Counties with sufficient data to analyze were ranked based on the first-quarter percentage of properties with a foreclosure filing, the percentage of average local wages needed to afford the major expenses of owning a median-priced home and the percentage of properties with outstanding mortgage balances that exceeded 125 percent of their estimated market values, along with March 2025 county-level unemployment rates. Ranks then were added up to develop a composite ranking across all four categories. Equal weight was given to each category. Counties with the lowest composite rank were considered most vulnerable to housing market problems. Those with the highest composite rank were considered least vulnerable. About ATTOMATTOM powers innovation across industries with premium property data and analytics covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our multi-sourced real estate data includes property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, neighborhood and geospatial boundary information, all validated through a rigorous 20-step process and linked by a unique ATTOM ID. From flexible delivery solutions—such as Property Data APIs, Bulk File Licenses, ATTOM Cloud, Real Estate Market Trends—to AI-Ready datasets, ATTOM fuels smarter decision-making across industries including real estate, mortgage, insurance, government, and more. Media Contact:Megan Data and Report Licensing:datareports@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ATTOM
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. HOME VACANCY RATE STEADY FOR 13th STRAIGHT QUARTER
Nationwide Home Vacancy Rate at 1.3 Percent for More than Three Years; Proportion of Zombie Homes Rose Year-Over-Year IRVINE, Calif., May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its second-quarter 2025 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.4 million (1,382,480) residential properties, about 1.3 percent of all homes in the United States, are vacant. The latest data marks the thirteenth consecutive quarter that the vacancy rate has hovered around 1.3 percent. The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data. (See full methodology below). ATTOM's analysis shows that 222,358 properties were in the foreclosure process during the second quarter of 2025, up 4.8 percent from the first quarter of the year but down 6.3 percent year-over-year. Prior to this latest increase, the number of properties in foreclosure had gone down in each of the previous five quarters. In the second quarter, 7,329 of those pre-foreclosure properties, 3.3 percent, were "zombie" properties, meaning they had been abandoned by their owners and sat vacant during the foreclosure process. The proportion of pre-foreclosure homes that are vacant is essentially the same as the first quarter of 2025 but up slightly from 2.9 percent during the same period last year. Zombie properties, which can fall into disrepair and negatively impact property values in a neighborhood, are seen as a sign of an unhealthy housing market and economy. The low rate of zombie properties—only one in every 14,207 homes in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2025—is indicative of the strength of the post-pandemic housing market. "Thankfully, we're not seeing a lot of homes sitting vacant due to pending foreclosures, which is good for families, neighborhoods, and the market," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "However, foreclosure filings have shown a recent uptick—with April seeing a 14 percent increase compared to the same month last year." "So far, buyers seem to be scooping up these repossessed homes relatively quickly, so they aren't sitting empty," Barber added. "Nobody wants to see a return to the days of the 2008 housing crisis when vacant, blighted homes were common in many parts of the country." Small statewide shifts in numbers of zombie homesThe number of zombie properties increased quarter-over-quarter in 30 states and the District of Columbia, but mostly by small amounts. The changes were also relatively small in the 19 states that saw their number of zombie properties fall. Year-over-year, the biggest percent increases in states that had at least 50 zombie homes were in North Carolina (52.5 percent more zombie properties, from 59 in the second quarter of 2024 to 90 in the second quarter of 2025), Iowa (up 52.1 percent, from 71 to 108), Texas (up 51.9 percent from 162 to 246), South Carolina (up 43.8 percent from 64 to 92), and Kansas (up 29 percent, from 69 to 89) The biggest yearly decreases among states with at least 50 zombie homes in the second quarter of 2024 were Massachusetts (down 48.7 percent, from 76 to 39), Maryland (down 22.1 percent, from 86 to 67), New Jersey (down 17.6 percent, from 239 to 197), California (down 8.9 percent, from 269 to 245), and Illinois (down 8.8 percent, from 724 to 660). Highest vacancy rates in the South, lowest in the NortheastThe vacancy rate for residential properties in the U.S. has remained steady around 1.3 percent for thirteen consecutive quarters. The states with the highest home vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2025 were Oklahoma (2.4 percent), Kansas (2.3 percent), Alabama (2.2 percent), Missouri (2.2 percent), and West Virginia (2.1 percent). The states with the lowest home vacancy rates in the most recent quarter were New Hampshire (0.3 percent), Vermont (0.4 percent), New Jersey (0.5 percent), Idaho (0.5 percent), and Connecticut (0.5 percent). Most large metro areas have zombie home rates below national rateAbout 55 percent (76) of the 138 metropolitan statistical areas in our analysis that had at least 100,000 residential properties and at least 100 properties in pre-foreclosure during the second quarter of 2025 had zombie foreclosure rates below the national rate of 3.3 percent. The metro areas with the highest proportion of pre-foreclosure homes that were vacant were Wichita, KS (12.1 percent); Peoria, IL (11.8 percent); Toledo, OH (10.2 percent); Cedar Rapids, IA (10.2 percent); and Cleveland, OH (10 percent). The metro areas with the lowest proportion of zombie foreclosures were Barnstable, MA (0 percent); Atlantic City, NJ (0.2 percent); Provo, UT (0.3 percent); Trenton, NJ (0.5 percent); and Stockton, CA (0.6 percent). Investor and bank owned homes see higher vacancy ratesThere were 24.8 million investor-owned properties in our analysis of second quarter 2025 home data, with a nationwide vacancy rate of 3.5 percent. The states with the highest investor-owned vacancy rates were Indiana (7.3 percent), Illinois (6.2 percent), Alabama (6 percent), Oklahoma (6 percent), and Ohio (5.8 percent) The states with the lowest investor-owned vacancy rates were New Hampshire (0.9 percent), Vermont (1 percent), Idaho (1.2 percent), Utah (1.5 percent), and North Dakota (1.6 percent). A third of zip codes have high zombie home ratesAbout 36 percent (781) of the 2,166 zip codes in ATTOM's analysis that had at least 25 properties in pre-foreclosure during the second quarter of 2025 had zombie foreclosure rates above the national rate of 3.3 percent. While in 42 percent (903) of those zip codes, there were no zombie foreclosures. The zip codes with the highest zombie foreclosure rates were 61605 in Peoria, IL (51.9 percent); 44108 in Cleveland, OH (42.2 percent); 61603 in Peoria, IL (34.6 percent), 32118 in Deltona, FL (34.2 percent), and 33708 in Tampa, FL (33.3 percent). Report Methodology ATTOM analyzed county tax assessor data for 104.1 million residential properties for vacancy, broken down by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status in the second quarter of 2025. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties and zip codes with at least 1,000 residential properties were included in the analysis. About ATTOM ATTOM powers innovation across industries with premium property data and analytics covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our multi-sourced real estate data includes property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, neighborhood and geospatial boundary information, all validated through a rigorous 20-step process and linked by a unique ATTOM ID. From flexible delivery solutions—such as Property Data APIs, Bulk File Licenses, ATTOM Cloud, Real Estate Market Trends—to AI-Ready datasets, ATTOM fuels smarter decision-making across industries including real estate, mortgage, insurance, government, and more. Media Contact:Megan Data and Report Licensing:datareports@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ATTOM
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. HOME VACANCY RATE STEADY FOR 13th STRAIGHT QUARTER
Nationwide Home Vacancy Rate at 1.3 Percent for More than Three Years; Proportion of Zombie Homes Rose Year-Over-Year IRVINE, Calif., May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its second-quarter 2025 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.4 million (1,382,480) residential properties, about 1.3 percent of all homes in the United States, are vacant. The latest data marks the thirteenth consecutive quarter that the vacancy rate has hovered around 1.3 percent. The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data. (See full methodology below). ATTOM's analysis shows that 222,358 properties were in the foreclosure process during the second quarter of 2025, up 4.8 percent from the first quarter of the year but down 6.3 percent year-over-year. Prior to this latest increase, the number of properties in foreclosure had gone down in each of the previous five quarters. In the second quarter, 7,329 of those pre-foreclosure properties, 3.3 percent, were "zombie" properties, meaning they had been abandoned by their owners and sat vacant during the foreclosure process. The proportion of pre-foreclosure homes that are vacant is essentially the same as the first quarter of 2025 but up slightly from 2.9 percent during the same period last year. Zombie properties, which can fall into disrepair and negatively impact property values in a neighborhood, are seen as a sign of an unhealthy housing market and economy. The low rate of zombie properties—only one in every 14,207 homes in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2025—is indicative of the strength of the post-pandemic housing market. "Thankfully, we're not seeing a lot of homes sitting vacant due to pending foreclosures, which is good for families, neighborhoods, and the market," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "However, foreclosure filings have shown a recent uptick—with April seeing a 14 percent increase compared to the same month last year." "So far, buyers seem to be scooping up these repossessed homes relatively quickly, so they aren't sitting empty," Barber added. "Nobody wants to see a return to the days of the 2008 housing crisis when vacant, blighted homes were common in many parts of the country." Small statewide shifts in numbers of zombie homesThe number of zombie properties increased quarter-over-quarter in 30 states and the District of Columbia, but mostly by small amounts. The changes were also relatively small in the 19 states that saw their number of zombie properties fall. Year-over-year, the biggest percent increases in states that had at least 50 zombie homes were in North Carolina (52.5 percent more zombie properties, from 59 in the second quarter of 2024 to 90 in the second quarter of 2025), Iowa (up 52.1 percent, from 71 to 108), Texas (up 51.9 percent from 162 to 246), South Carolina (up 43.8 percent from 64 to 92), and Kansas (up 29 percent, from 69 to 89) The biggest yearly decreases among states with at least 50 zombie homes in the second quarter of 2024 were Massachusetts (down 48.7 percent, from 76 to 39), Maryland (down 22.1 percent, from 86 to 67), New Jersey (down 17.6 percent, from 239 to 197), California (down 8.9 percent, from 269 to 245), and Illinois (down 8.8 percent, from 724 to 660). Highest vacancy rates in the South, lowest in the NortheastThe vacancy rate for residential properties in the U.S. has remained steady around 1.3 percent for thirteen consecutive quarters. The states with the highest home vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2025 were Oklahoma (2.4 percent), Kansas (2.3 percent), Alabama (2.2 percent), Missouri (2.2 percent), and West Virginia (2.1 percent). The states with the lowest home vacancy rates in the most recent quarter were New Hampshire (0.3 percent), Vermont (0.4 percent), New Jersey (0.5 percent), Idaho (0.5 percent), and Connecticut (0.5 percent). Most large metro areas have zombie home rates below national rateAbout 55 percent (76) of the 138 metropolitan statistical areas in our analysis that had at least 100,000 residential properties and at least 100 properties in pre-foreclosure during the second quarter of 2025 had zombie foreclosure rates below the national rate of 3.3 percent. The metro areas with the highest proportion of pre-foreclosure homes that were vacant were Wichita, KS (12.1 percent); Peoria, IL (11.8 percent); Toledo, OH (10.2 percent); Cedar Rapids, IA (10.2 percent); and Cleveland, OH (10 percent). The metro areas with the lowest proportion of zombie foreclosures were Barnstable, MA (0 percent); Atlantic City, NJ (0.2 percent); Provo, UT (0.3 percent); Trenton, NJ (0.5 percent); and Stockton, CA (0.6 percent). Investor and bank owned homes see higher vacancy ratesThere were 24.8 million investor-owned properties in our analysis of second quarter 2025 home data, with a nationwide vacancy rate of 3.5 percent. The states with the highest investor-owned vacancy rates were Indiana (7.3 percent), Illinois (6.2 percent), Alabama (6 percent), Oklahoma (6 percent), and Ohio (5.8 percent) The states with the lowest investor-owned vacancy rates were New Hampshire (0.9 percent), Vermont (1 percent), Idaho (1.2 percent), Utah (1.5 percent), and North Dakota (1.6 percent). A third of zip codes have high zombie home ratesAbout 36 percent (781) of the 2,166 zip codes in ATTOM's analysis that had at least 25 properties in pre-foreclosure during the second quarter of 2025 had zombie foreclosure rates above the national rate of 3.3 percent. While in 42 percent (903) of those zip codes, there were no zombie foreclosures. The zip codes with the highest zombie foreclosure rates were 61605 in Peoria, IL (51.9 percent); 44108 in Cleveland, OH (42.2 percent); 61603 in Peoria, IL (34.6 percent), 32118 in Deltona, FL (34.2 percent), and 33708 in Tampa, FL (33.3 percent). Report Methodology ATTOM analyzed county tax assessor data for 104.1 million residential properties for vacancy, broken down by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status in the second quarter of 2025. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties and zip codes with at least 1,000 residential properties were included in the analysis. About ATTOM ATTOM powers innovation across industries with premium property data and analytics covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our multi-sourced real estate data includes property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, neighborhood and geospatial boundary information, all validated through a rigorous 20-step process and linked by a unique ATTOM ID. From flexible delivery solutions—such as Property Data APIs, Bulk File Licenses, ATTOM Cloud, Real Estate Market Trends—to AI-Ready datasets, ATTOM fuels smarter decision-making across industries including real estate, mortgage, insurance, government, and more. Media Contact:Megan Data and Report Licensing:datareports@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ATTOM Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Wayne Brown: Support for senior leaders after fire chief suicide
Staffordshire's chief fire officer has opened up about a lack of support for senior leaders in the service. In a public meeting, Rob Barber was asked about the death of Wayne Brown, who held the same role in the West Midlands. An inquest heard he had taken his own life in January last year after months of alleged harassment and questions over his qualifications. Mr Barber described Mr Brown as a "dear friend and colleague" and said work was being done to provide more help to officers in management roles. The fire chief said action was being taken alongside membership groups and charities to ensure assistance was available and people knew where to find it. "There has been an identification throughout the sector that many senior leaders have been struggling in terms of being able to access support when required," he said."Hopefully some positive can come out of a tragedy such as Wayne's passing. That will be a good thing for the sector." Ben Adams, Staffordshire's police, fire and crime commissioner, said he welcomed action taken on mental health and wellbeing by the National Fire Chiefs Council."We need to attract and retain the most talented leadership in the fire and rescue sector but unfortunately leaders quite often find themselves subjected to inexcusable and unwarranted personal abuse," he said. "During these times, the support of their peers or a professional network is vital." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
