Homeless Shelters and Property Values

In Manhattan, homeless shelters are shown to have a negative effect on property values.

1 minute read

September 26, 2019, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Homelessness

Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock

"Does being close to a shelter have a negative effect on property values?"

That's the question posed, and answered for the borough of Manhattan in New York City, in an article by Nikkita Stewart.

The city's Independent Budget Office undertook an analysis at sales in Manhattan of homes near homeless shelters and found that homeowners, "would get about 24 to 25 percent less for a house or a condominium than for a residence farther from a shelter with no other shelters nearby."

"Gale A. Brewer, the Manhattan borough president, requested the recent analysis of shelters. She said she had always been skeptical of Mr. de Blasio’s plan to open 90 new shelters over five years as a solution to homelessness," reports Stewart.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 in The New York Times

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