Katrin B. Anacker

HOMEOWNERSHIP AND NEIGHBORHOOD SATISFACTION AMONG LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

ABSTRACT: Most research on homeownership is conducted on nationally representative samples of homeowners and fails to isolate the unique experience of low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners. Given the interest of policymakers in promoting homeownership among LMI households over the past 20 years, along with the apparent role played by risky borrowers—many of whom are low-income—in the current housing market crisis, it is important to evaluate both economic and social outcomes for this subgroup of homeowners. Using a matched set of LMI owners and renters in the 2007 Community Advantage Program (CAP) panel, we assess the effect of homeownership on neighborhood satisfaction. By including various individual and neighborhood characteristics as covariates, we employ multilevel modeling and propensity score matching to address the nested structure of the data and endogeneity issues. Findings indicate that homeownership is an important predictor of neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households, even when controlling for a host of socioeconomic, demographic, and neighborhood characteristics. This may suggest that homeownership can serve as a viable way to improve neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households. This is important as neighborhood satisfaction is highly associated with overall quality of life.

STILL PAYING THE RACE TAX? ANALYZING PROPERTY VALUES IN HOMOGENEOUS AND MIXED‐RACE SUBURBS

ABSTRACT: Racial and ethnic inequality has manifested itself in wealth ownership and access to quality housing. Home ownership is considered a good basis on which to build equity. Whereas property values and their appreciation have been analyzed in those inner city neighborhoods that have high proportions of racially and ethnically underrepresented groups, not much systematic research has been undertaken on these issues in homogeneous versus mixed-race suburbs. By analyzing census tracts within select counties across the United States with weighted least squares (WLS) regressions, this article investigates differences among suburban census tracts in terms of several factors, including property values and their appreciation rates and factors, that have influenced property values. Based on the results, it is concluded that the assumption that home ownership in the suburbs leads to the building of housing wealth needs to be differentiated.

Analysing Determinants of Foreclosure among High-income African-American and Hispanic Borrowers in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area

Abstract Foreclosures have disproportionately affected minority borrowers and communities. Many academic studies have focused either on the nation as a whole or on specific metropolitan areas, but few have concentrated on the nations capital. Using a merged dataset consisting of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), US Census, and Lender Processing Services (LPS) data and utilizing a logistic regression model, we analyse the likelihood of foreclosure in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. We find that high-income African-American borrowers are 36 per cent and Hispanic borrowers 79 per cent more likely to go into foreclosure, controlling for key financial variables. Moreover, we find that exotic mortgage products, such as adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), high-cost mortgages, balloon mortgages and interest-only mortgages, have a higher likelihood of foreclosure than standard 30-year fixed rate mortgages.

ANALYZING FORECLOSURES AMONG HIGH-INCOME BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC/LATINO BORROWERS IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND

Abstract Although Prince Georges County, Maryland, is the wealthiest Black/African American county in the nation, the national foreclosure crisis has had a profound effect on it. Using a merged data set consisting of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), U.S. Census, and Lender Processing Services (LPS) data and utilizing a logistic regression model, we analyzed the likelihood of foreclosure in Prince George’s County in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. We found that the borrowers in Black/African American neighborhoods with high-income were 42% more likely and Hispanic/Latino neighborhoods with high-income were 159% more likely than the borrowers in non-Hispanic White neighborhoods to go into foreclosure, controlling for key demographic, socioeconomic, and financial variables.

NEIGHBORHOOD FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SAME-SEX HOUSEHOLDS IN U.S. CITIES

Quality of life cannot be fully described by the availability of regional amenities. Instead, it also depends on the quality of neighborhoods and housing. In connection with discussions on knowledge workers, not much systematic research has been done on the characteristics of neighborhoods characterized by high proportions of same-sex households. By analyzing census tracts within select counties across the United States using Poisson regressions, this article investigates what factors are related to the number of same-sex households.

Mature suburbs, property values, and decline in the midwest? The case of Cuyahoga county

Abstract For most U.S. homeowners, a home represents the biggest investment they will ever make, and until recently, most expected the value of their property to rise. If the mature suburbs in which many of these homeowners live have problems or are in decline, property values could decrease and investment value will be lost. We define mature suburbs for Cuyahoga County, OH (the Cleveland area), and analyze the property values of single‐family homes there. We examine how property values have behaved in mature suburbs compared with the central city and developing suburbs and analyze specific factors that have influenced the property value of single‐family homes in these three submarkets from 1985 to 2000. Our analyses show that there is no overall decline in nominal property values. Housing space, nearness to workplaces and transportation networks, and tax rates are important variables in the model, affecting mature suburbs and developing suburbs differently.

What Sexuality Is This Place? Building a Framework for Evaluating Sexualized Space: The Case of Kansas City, Missouri

ABSTRACT: We intend to build on previous work in planning and geography to develop a new framework for characterizing the everyday spaces that queer people move through and to capture their experiences of the city. Our hypothesis is that all spaces reflect social norms around gender identity and sexual orientation. We will explore how these norms play out in urban spaces by adapting a Lynchian framework that characterizes space by performance characteristics, such as fit, access, and control, using Kansas City, Missouri as a case study. Our results show that queer people read most spaces as heteronormative. They also show that there is a set of spaces with common performance characteristics that are preferred by queer people in Kansas City. We conclude with recommendations for future research and suggest connections to planning practice.

The new politics of affordable housing

Abstract For decades, advocates have debated how to better position affordable housing on the national agenda. Over the past few years, organizations such as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) have sponsored surveys and hosted conferences to better understand which issues resonate with the public. This article analyzes NAR survey data on affordability and addresses what the findings mean for those seeking to promote housing concerns. The data show that the public sees affordability as a major problem on a par with health care and unemployment, but there seems to be a disconnect between affordability and the current subprime lending/foreclosure crisis. Therefore, affordable housing might not register as a political issue once the crisis is over. Unlike other major political issues, housing is not seen as universally broken. This article addresses the disconnect between politicians and the public on affordable housing and suggests new strategies that could raise its media profile.

Suburban Crossroads: The Fight for Local Control of Immigration Policy

Over the past decade or so, immigrants to the USA have started bypassing cities, moving straight to the suburbs. While some communities have embraced nativist diversity, others have tried to confront it, such as Carpentersville, Illinois; Farmers Branch, Texas; and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, all of which are mature suburbs that have experienced symptoms of decline since the 1990s, well before their local immigration debates started in the mid2000. Suburban Crossroads: The Fight for Local Control of Immigration Policy, authored by Thomas J. Vicino, is about ‘the consequences of the growing divisions within and among cities and suburbs among [the] special dimensions of socio-economic and political change’ (xiv) and how the local political actors reacted to these changes. Vicino bases his three case studies on the framework of neighbourhood socio-economic change and policy progress, asking three research questions.

Analyzing Census tract foreclosure risk rates in mature and developing suburbs in the United States

In the early 2000s, many policymakers and researchers became concerned about suburban decline. The recent national subprime, foreclosure, and economic crises have intensified these concerns. In this study, I analyze the 2010 Neighborhood Stabilization Program 3, the 2005/2009 American Community Survey, and other databases with descriptive statistics and weighted least squares regression models. Differentiating among tracts in central cities, mature suburbs, and developing suburbs in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, I examine what factors determine the Census tract foreclosure risk rate and what differentiates these factors. Results show that mature suburbs have foreclosure rates similar to central cities and that similar factors determine the neighborhood foreclosure risk rates among central cities and mature and developing suburbs to a different degree. These results demonstrate the need for place-based interventions.