Impact of Single-Family Mortgage Foreclosure on Neighborhood Crime

• NCJ Number: 224667
• Author(s): D. Immergluck; G. Smith
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Routledge
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Housing Studies 21 (6)(2006); downloaded November 12, 2008.

Annotation

This paper examines the impact of foreclosures of single-family mortgages on levels of violent and property crime at the neighborhood level.

Abstract

Results found that higher foreclosure levels did contribute to higher levels of violent crime. While the results for property were not statistically significant, the coefficient in the regression was positive. Property crime related to boarded-up or abandoned homes resulting from foreclosures might be less likely to be reported than property crime occurring in occupied properties. A standard deviation increase in the foreclosure rate (about 2.8 foreclosures for every 100 owner-occupied properties in 1 year) corresponded to an increase in neighborhood violent crime of approximately 6.7 percent. These findings suggest that foreclosures may have important social and economic consequences on neighborhoods beyond effects on the finances of households directly affected by the foreclosure. An increase in violent crime is an important social and economic cost that must be incorporated into policymaking concerning real estate and mortgage lending policies and regulation. Tables, references and figures