Trulia, the data-driven real-estate company, has recently released findings on the Trulia Blog titled There Doesn’t Go the Neighborhood: Low-Income Housing Has No Impact on Nearby Home Values. The study looks at the 20 least affordable housing markets in the United States during a ten year window from 1996 to 2006. The study compares homes within a 2,000 foot radius and those 2,001-4,000 feet from affordable housing built with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The findings, overall, point to “no significant effect on home values located near a low-income housing project, with a few exceptions.” Of the 20 markets examined, 2 of them were exceptions to the rule:

  1. In Denver, the presence of low-income housing had a positive effect on value for nearby homes.
  2. In the Boston and Cambridge area, low-income housing had a negative effect on value for nearby homes.

Another interesting data point included in the study: San Jose and Seattle had the two highest ratios of low-income units per 1,000 people at 7.81 and 7.39, respectively. Oakland had the lowest ratio of affordable units at 0.52 units to every 1,000 people.

This is certainly not the first study of its kind. The Furman Center has summarized four other such studies, all of which came to similar conclusions – that affordable housing does not affect surrounding property values.