The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods: The Case of Residential Property (2024)

January 6, 2019

Owner-occupied homes inAfrican-Americanneighborhoods are undervalued by $48,000 per home, on average, compared with comparable homes in other neighborhoods, which translates to a cumulative loss of $156 billion in potential wealth accumulation, a report from the Brookings Institution and Gallup finds. The report, The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods: The Case of Residential Property(28 pages, PDF), found that in U.S. metropolitan areas, homes in neighborhoods that are at least 50 percent African American are valued at roughly half the price of those in neighborhoods with few or no black residents, with a strong correlation between a higher percentage of African Americans and lower median market value. Moreover, the negative consequences of segregation such as school quality do not fully explain the lower values in African-American neighborhoods: even when comparing homes of similar quality in neighborhoods with similar amenities, those in majority African-American communities have a valuation almost 23 percent lower, on average, than those in non-black communities. The study found that metro areas with lower home values in African-American neighborhoods — including Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut; Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, South Carolina; and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio — are more segregated and generate less upward mobility for the children who grow up in those communities, whereas children from low-income families in metro areas where homes have higher values achieve higher incomes as adults.

The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods: The Case of Residential Property (2024)

FAQs

Why are black neighborhoods devalued? ›

Part of this difference is attributable to quality differences between the housing stock. Lower wealth in Black communities means that homes in majority Black neighborhoods tend to be older, smaller, and more likely to be attached than homes in neighborhoods with few or no Black people.

What is the meaning of property devaluation? ›

Property Devaluation is said to be the reduction cum decline in value of property, be it land or edifice. Many factors can shape property values, and there is no one standard cliché to determining what a property worth hence, there are few variables that tend to affect property value(s).

What is devaluation of assets? ›

Asset devaluation, also known as impairment, occurs when the value of an asset declines significantly. This can happen due to various reasons, including changes in market conditions, technological advancements, legal or regulatory changes, or economic factors.

Why do property values go down when a neighborhood changes from white to nonwhite? ›

Property Values Go Down

The nonwhite middle class is usually not large enough to sustain market demand. (If whites represent 80% of the housing market, then 80% of the potential demand is absent.) As prices decline, the community's socioeconomic level changes as well.

What is the richest black neighborhood in the country? ›

The Wealthiest Black Neighborhoods in America
  • Charles County, Maryland. Charles County is now the richest county where Black people reside, recently surpassing its neighbor Prince George's County. ...
  • Rosedale, New York. ...
  • Cedar Hill, Texas. ...
  • Stone Mountain, Georgia. ...
  • Baldwin Hills, California.
Jun 1, 2023

Are black homes appraised lower? ›

A 2021 study by Freddie Mac found that Black and Latino homeowners are about twice as likely as whites to get low appraisals. According to the report, 12.5% of the properties in predominantly Black census tract areas receive appraisal value lower than contract price.

What factors devalue a house? ›

What hurts property value — 12 factors to consider
  • Deferred or neglected maintenance. ...
  • Home improvements done wrong or not built to code. ...
  • Outdated kitchens and bathrooms. ...
  • Shoddy workmanship. ...
  • Bad or ugly landscaping. ...
  • Frail or damaged roof. ...
  • Noise pollution. ...
  • Registered sex offenders in the area.
Feb 25, 2023

What is the meaning and definition of devaluation? ›

Devaluation is the deliberate downward adjustment of a country's currency value. The government issuing the currency can decide to devalue its currency. Devaluing a currency reduces the cost of a country's exports and can help shrink trade deficits.

What happens to real estate when currency devalues? ›

Higher inflation: A weaker dollar can lead to higher inflation, which can impact the real estate market by increasing construction costs, reducing the purchasing power of homebuyers, and potentially increasing interest rates. Lower mortgage rates: In some cases, a weaker dollar can lead to lower interest rates, making.

Why is devaluation a problem? ›

Cons of Devaluation

Devaluation can result in an increase in the prices of products and services over time. The increase in the price of imports causes consumers to purchase their goods from domestic industries. The amount of the price increases, however, is dependent on the competition of supply and aggregate demand.

What is the rule of devaluation? ›

Meaning of devaluation

The apex monetary authority of the country sets a lower exchange rate for the national currency in relation to a foreign reference currency or currency basket in case of devaluation. Historically, devaluation has been used as a tool to control the balance of payment deficits.

Why is devaluation bad? ›

Currency devaluation may lower productivity, since imports of capital equipment and machinery may become too expensive. Devaluation also significantly reduces the overseas purchasing power of a nation's citizens.

What's the average difference in home values between white and black neighborhoods? ›

Overall, homes in majority-White, non-Hispanic neighborhoods cost significantly more than homes in majority-Hispanic or Black neighborhoods. As of 2022, homes in White neighborhoods cost $440,000 on average, while homes in Hispanic neighborhoods cost $348,000 and homes in Black neighborhoods cost $217,000.

When a poor neighborhood becomes rich? ›

Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been used to describe a wide array of phenomena, usually in a pejorative connotation.

What brings down the value of the neighborhood? ›

Neighborhood Factors Can Bring Down Property Values

If your neighborhood looks unkempt, if it's noisy, if there are foreclosures, or if there are things like power lines, low-income housing, and gun ranges nearby, these could drop the value of your home.

What percentage of black communities are poor? ›

The official poverty rate of the U.S. Black population reached a historic low of 17.1% in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today.

Why are black farmers losing their land? ›

In addition to theft by state-sanctioned violence, intimidation, and lynching, Black farmers also lost land due to discrimination by banks and financial institutions; through the denial of access to federal farm benefits by local administrators who funneled those benefits to white farm owners; through forced partition ...

Why is black homeownership so low? ›

Historical discrimination through exclusionary housing policies and practices, plus a dwindling supply of housing and a variety of other factors have limited Black families from purchasing homes at the same rate as their White counterparts.

What cities have declining black population? ›

Since the 2000 census, the number and proportion of black population has decreased in several major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, DC.

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