Nonprofit housing investment and local area home values

In the wake of the recent mortgage crisis, interest in neighborhood stabilization and redevelopment has shown renewed vigor. Decaying neighborhoods have been part of the urban landscape for decades, but their problems recently have been exacerbated by foreclosed and vacated properties, especially in low- and moderate-income areas. ; Edmiston analyzes the impact of housing investments in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods on neighborhood quality by estimating the effect of that investment on the value of nearby houses. Property values are a good measure of overall neighborhood impacts because they show the willingness of homeowners (or investors) to pay for neighborhood attributes. ; The analysis provides evidence that housing investments in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods generally increase the values of nearby homes, which in turn suggests that the investments engender quality improvements in the neighborhood.