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While studies show homes in predominately Black neighborhoods have been regularly undervalued by appraisers and the financial damage to families can last for generations, Illinois REALTORS® is part of the effort to find solutions, according to a story by ABC7 Chicago.
Chicago-area REALTOR® Lutalo McGee, chair of the Illinois REALTORS® Discriminatory Task Force, says lower appraisals not only affect property values for individuals, they can affect values of other neighborhood homes and stunt the wealth building that homeownership can provide. A 2019 Brookings Institute study showed homes in majority Black neighborhoods were undervalued by $48,000.
According to 2020 Federal Reserve data, 10.15 percent of Black families passed on inheritances to their families while 29.9 percent of White families did.
The story also says that improving the diversity of Chicago-area home appraisers could be part of the solution. According to 2019 U.S. Census 5-year American Community Survey, 90 percent of appraisers are White, while 5 percent are Black, 3 percent Latino and 1 percent Asian.
