Page 7 - atoday
P. 7
U.S. NEWS A7
Monday 23 November 2015
US Financial Front:
Home values point to a sharp wealth divide within US cities
JOSH BOAK is a first step in examin- The “Painted Ladies,” a row of historical Victorian homes, underscore the San Francisco skyline
AP Economics Writer ing changes over time
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s in neighborhoods and in in a view from Alamo Square. Real estate brokerage Redfin analyzed home sales over the
still possible in Boston for a economic mobility.
mail carrier, an accoun- “Our argument is the past 24 months in 20 major U.S. cities, breaking down the data by neighborhood. Many of the
tant and a Harvard-trained shape of the American city
psychiatrist — basically, is the shape of American cities reflect home values that have outpaced wages over the past 15 years, causing their
the crowd from “Cheers” life,” said Glenn Kelman,
— to live as neighbors. CEO of Redfin. “When the neighborhoods to mirror a broader national wealth gap. San Francisco, for example, enjoys the
That finding by the real only time you meet some-
estate brokerage Redfin one wealthy is when you’re benefits of tech fortunes, but its homes are largely unaffordable for the police officers, firefighters
makes the capital of Mas- handing them a croissant,
sachusetts a rarity at a the likelihood that your and teachers the city needs. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
time when neighborhoods kids are going to attend
in most U.S. cities are in- a good school and know steady flow of students about the neighborhood.” ies, such as Baltimore and
creasingly isolated from how to pursue a career go each year to the 35 col- To assess affordability, Red- Philadelphia, contain small
each other by income and down.” leges in Boston has made fin compared sales prices clusters of wealthy neigh-
home values. More than half of Boston many homes attractive to to median incomes. Other borhoods along with large
Redfin analyzed home contains a mix of high-end investors seeking to rent cities with above-average swaths of relatively low-
sales over the past 24 and affordable homes, them out. levels of economic diver- priced homes, but many
months in 20 major U.S. compared with a national Pockets of Roxbury were sity include Denver, Seat- residents lack the stable in-
cities, breaking down the average of 13 percent. close to abandoned dur- tle and Washington, D.C., come and savings to buy.
data by neighborhood. Boston’s most economi- ing the 1970s, said broker which have benefited In some cases, the data
Many of the cities reflect cally mixed neighbor- Deborah Bernat. But reno- from an influx of educated suggest that better-off
home values that have hoods tend to be centered vations and development workers and technology residents work in a city but
outpaced wages over the around its Roxbury district, have introduced condos companies. live in the suburbs, so that
past 15 years and contrib- a section that has been and townhomes with such But high-tech can also wid- only a small share of the
uted to a widening wealth predominantly working luxury features as gas fire- en the wealth gap. Almost city itself is economically
gap among neighbor- class, black and Latino in places and balconies. The all of San Francisco — the diverse. A mix of high-end
hoods that mirrors a na- a city with a long history of result has been a mixture hub for the most prominent and affordable housing
tional trend. racial and ethnic divisions. of blue-collar residents with software and computer exists, for example, in less
San Francisco, for example, Its growing economic di- startup executives. firms — consists of homes than 10 percent of San An-
enjoys the benefits of tech versity reflects the chang- “Sustainable integration is worth more than what tonio, Memphis, Jackson-
fortunes, but its homes are ing character of Roxbury, the goal,” Bernat said. “It’s a middle-income family ville, Detroit, Indianapolis
largely unaffordable for where many middle-in- one of the things that I love there can afford. Other cit- and Columbus, Ohio.q
the police officers, firefight- come homebuyers are set-
ers and teachers the city tling after being priced out
needs. And while housing of other sections of Boston.
in Baltimore seems afford- The trend has unfolded in
able, low and unstable Roxbury neighborhoods
incomes there have de- such as Highland Park and
pressed home ownership Egleston Square. Real es-
rates. Ribbons of highways tate broker Christopher
have also ferried the mid- Buono said higher prices
dle class out of cities such over the past five years in
as Detroit, leaving behind other areas of Boston have
concentrations of poverty. led more buyers into these
Redfin said its analysis neighborhoods. And the
