A-Mark Foundation is a non profit organization whose mission is to present unbiased research on many sociopolitical topics like housing. The organization recently published a review of research on the impacts of low-income housing affecting neighborhood property values with surprising results.
It is important to first define low-income housing. In these studies, low-income housing was defined as households that make less than 80% of median income in the surrounding area. Historical instances dating back as far as the 1970s, have also shown that wealthier neighborhoods have used restrictive zoning practices to block development of low-income housing. The opposition to integrate communities stems mostly from fear of the potential for more crime, racist and classist connotations, and most importantly, the perceived notion of negative impact to property values.
Interestingly enough, in the A-Mark Foundation report, research studies have generally concluded there was a positive impact or none at all on property values. While the results were mixed, seven out of thirteen studies found that property values actually increased in their neighborhoods. Three studies showed that the increase or decrease of property values depended on the affluence of said neighborhoods.
A-Mark Foundation’s CEO< Rob Eshman, also published the findings in an article for the Los Angeles Times. He drew from his own personal experiences with his family’s neighborhood, that “for the last three decades, [their neighborhood] has also served as vibrant proof that the notion that affordable housing lowers property values is overblown, if not flat-out wrong”.
Based on these findings, it seems that homeowners can rest assured that their investments into their homes will remain as such.
Written by Claire Kim