Abstract

Over the past five years, the question of whether real estate appraisers systematically undervalue homes purchased or occupied by Black and Hispanic households has emerged as a significant civil rights issue. Major media have highlighted some instances where the same home received a dramatically higher appraisal when the appraiser believed the client was white rather than Black. Some social scientists have argued that appraisal discrimination is the root cause of the lower housing prices that prevail in many urban minority neighborhoods— and thus an important source of the racial “wealth gap.” Candidate Biden expressed strong concern about the issue during the 2020 presidential campaign, and President Biden in 2021 created a special cabinet-level Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) to investigate the issue and propose solutions...

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

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