The Calculus of Black Housing Decisions
The decision-making process for Black home seekers is quite different from that of White home seekers
Paul Saunders | Corner Side Yard
I imagine that the decision-making process for home ownership or renting is very different for White home-seekers and Black home-seekers. I also imagine it’s one of the ways deep housing segregation by race is perpetuated in America, despite all our efforts to defeat it. Millions of housing decisions that make sense at the individual level, just don’t work out for all of us the same way.
I’m the oldest of three siblings. My sister, brother and I are what were once called “buppies” back in the 90’s: Black urban professionals. All of us had advanced degrees and professional careers. My sister is a federal contractor living in Loudoun County, VA, outside of Washington, DC. My brother is a university professor living in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. And I’m an urban planner living about 30 miles west of Chicago in Naperville, IL. All of these locations are great places, for different reasons. We’re all quite pleased with where we live, but we also recognize that our housing decisions came with some trade-offs that Whites rarely, in my opinion, have to consider.
Why do I say this? Because being a “buppie” in America means almost never being able to find a community that’s perfectly tailored for you.
White home-seekers, I imagine, have an expansive, if not always inclusive, housing market to select from. Yes, everyone is pretty much restricted by budget to some degree, but there just seems to be a wide selection of neighborhoods or communities that White residents can choose from, sorted by class, housing type, access, and other factors. White home-seekers also seem to easily be able to find a community with the amenities they desire. Want to live in a community with trippy and eclectic shops and boutiques? It’s out there for you … [if you’re White]. You want access to great cultural fare? You can have it. Even if what you want is auto-dominated sprawl served by shopping centers with plenty of parking, it is yours for the taking.
White home-seekers also seem able to find and live in a community that has the demographics of their preference. If a certain level of diversity appeals to you, you can find it. If diversity is not a priority, you can find other suitable places – with no negative impact on housing value. Related to that, White home-seekers can have a reasonable expectation of community stability and modest value appreciation, if not outright change and stratospheric value appreciation.
Home Seeking While Black
Black home-seekers, however, face a more complex set of issues.
First, we face a much smaller housing market, even in the same region or metropolitan area. Yes, we’re restricted by costs, but also by perceptions: how would moving into a particular community be accepted? Some of us elect to say “screw perception” and go where we want to go; others take it to heart and go where they feel most comfortable.
Second: we have a tougher time finding communities that have a critical mass of the amenities we prefer. We often find that we live in one place, but the social and cultural amenities that appeal to us, like churches, nightclubs, bars and restaurants, even arts and cultural institutions, are located far from us. Even at a personal services level, it can be tough. Try finding a Black barber shop in many communities, or a beauty supply store that sells hair products for Black women. And I believe that the arrival of some small Black businesses is a signal to Whites that a place is “changing”.
Third, we are pretty conscious of how our presence may impact a neighborhood – not because of who we are or what we do, but because of perceptions of who we are and what we do. Sometimes we’re welcomed in as new residents in the neighborhood; other times our presence triggers Whites to leave.
Lastly, and connected to the previous point, history has shown us that we shouldn’t have a reasonable expectation of value appreciation. Rarely have Black homeowners been able to cash in on increased property values and create generational wealth. More often, Black renters see rents rise and seek out new places to live.
Put it all together and I see Black home-seekers walking a fine line that White home-seekers don’t have to. If Black home-seekers are looking for a community that is stable, amenity-rich, and has the prospect of a good rate of return, they’re looking to move to a community that likely has a fair number of Black residents, but not a so-called “critical mass.” Those qualities rarely exist in a community that has a plurality or majority of Black residents, no matter the income level or class status.
And to be sure, this is true in an urban and suburban context. There’s been tons of hand-wringing and guilt over gentrification leading to widespread displacement and Black-to-White racial transition in urban neighborhoods, but that’s rare. What’s far more common in urban settings is for Black neighborhoods to be starved of investment while a city’s inventory of low-income White neighborhoods cashes in. In the suburbs, much has been made about the growing diversity of suburbia. However, White flight is still a thing and it’s most recognizable in the suburbs. What I see is White homeowners departing inner-ring or mid-ring suburbs for city neighborhoods or the exurban periphery.
My siblings and I made housing decisions that reflect the fine line we walk. My sister’s home in Loudoun County, VA and mine in Naperville, IL are upper-middle class areas that are stable, prosperous, reasonably welcoming to Blacks, yet not viewed as places that are in the path of rapid racial transition. My brother’s Park Slope neighborhood has already undergone its transition. While it’s probably more diverse than it’s ever been, to hear my brother tell it one can go quite some time without seeing very many Black people.
I think everyone realizes you can’t always get what you want. Yet, some people are able to get much closer to that ideal than others.