by James A. Bacon
When you examine every issue through a racial lens, everything looks like racism. It’s even easier to find racism everywhere when you resort to junk science (or social science, as the case may be).
A case in point is a new study by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (Home), which purports to find that systemic bias in real estate appraisals results in under-valuation of properties in predominantly African-American neighborhoods in the City of Richmond. This bias harms African-American property owners, the report contends, despite the fact that if the bias actually exists it would mean African-American homeowners would be paying lower real estate taxes.
So, how does HOME demonstrate bias?
The story begins in 2022 when Dr. Andre Perry with the Brookings Institution make a presentation in Richmond showing that home values are much lower in majority-Black neighborhoods than in predominantly non-Black neighborhoods. While acknowledging that part of the difference arises from differences in the homes and opportunities available in the neighborhoods, his statistical analysis showed that different valuations occur even when comparing “identical homes in neighborhoods with identical (non-racial) characteristics.” Continue reading