Abstract
During the recent United States foreclosure crisis, investors purchased and leased thousands of homes nationwide, opening up formerly owner-occupied neighborhoods to renters. Yet, little is known about how this process affected regional patterns of residential segregation and inequality. In this study, we combine property-level data on real estate transactions and subsidized housing vouchers from 2004 to 2014 to assess whether the conversion of foreclosures to rentals enabled low-income renters to live in more advantaged neighborhoods in Phoenix, Arizona. Renters with vouchers living in investor-purchased foreclosures were in lower-poverty neighborhoods compared with those not living in investor-purchased foreclosures. This suggests that foreclosure sales may have widened the geography of opportunity for low-income renters with subsidized housing.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1197-1220 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Urban Geography |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 17 2015 |
Keywords
- foreclosures
- geography of opportunity
- investors
- poverty
- recession
- renters
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Urban Studies