Homes in black neighborhoods significantly undervalued

Homes in neighborhoods that are mostly black sell, or are appraised for, 23 percent less than their value.

On average, that is $48,000 per property, according to Brookings Institution’s report, The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods. Overall, this represents $156 billion in losses. In the U.S., black-majority neighborhoods represent 10 percent of all neighborhoods, and consist of more than 10,000 public schools and more than 3 million businesses. While some of these neighborhoods had features that could lower property values, such as higher crime rates and longer commutes, these features don’t account for the whole percentage.

Schools near all-black neighborhoods tend to have lower test scores than their white counterparts. The report found that the proficiency rate on state exams in majority black neighborhoods is 15 percent, while it is 60 percent in neighborhoods with less than 1 percent of black population shares.

Thirty-seven percent of black residents in the country live in a majority-black neighborhood, and 70 percent of black residents live in neighborhoods that are at least 20 percent black. Ninety percent of black Americans live in metropolitan areas. In 117 out of 119 mostly black metropolitan neighborhoods in the U.S., homes are undervalued.

The report found that black children who are born into low-income families who grow up in areas where black homes are less devalued are more likely to have a higher income as an adult.

Ultimately, researchers said their “findings are generally consistent with the widespread presence of anti-black bias—whether unconscious or not, ingrained stereotypes and automatic associations of a particular group, and even outright discrimination and racism.”