The Trajectory of REOs in Southern California Latino Neighborhoods: An Uneven Geography of Recovery

Although a rich literature exists on the determinants and effects of concentrated foreclosures, little is known about what drives variation in how long real estate owned (REO) properties take to sell and to whom, particularly in Latino communities heavily affected by the current foreclosure crisis. This research employs multilevel and event history modeling to assess the factors associated with recent REOs' likelihood of sale, sale to an investor, and sale to a Spanish-surname household in a sample of majority Latino Southern California neighborhoods. Properties in inner-city and exurban Latino neighborhoods with larger black population shares were less likely to sell and more likely to sell to investors if they did, while those located in lower poverty, largely Latino communities were more likely to sell to Spanish-surname households. These results suggest that the crisis is both exacerbating existing patterns of inequality and segregation while enabling Latinos' homeownership in potentially socioeconomic mobility-enabling areas.