MikeBolen.com

Despite protestations that mixed-income multifamily developments reduce property values, a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Real Estate shows that there’s no significant difference in home-price appreciation between residences located close to a mixed-income development or elsewhere in the community. Great news for homeowners and rental owners is areas of heavy mixed used development like Napa Valley or San Francisco.

The study, “Effects of Mixed-Income, Multi-Family Rental Housing Developments on Single-Family Housing Values,” looked at seven such developments in the Boston suburbs. The results effectively disarm one commonly used weapon in the fight against higher-density, affordable housing projects. “We were extra-meticulous in our research because this is such a hot-button issue,” says Henry Pollakowski, a housing economist at MIT’s Center for Real Estate and the study’s co-author. “We talked to planners, tax assessors, and neighbors, as well as looking at patterns over time for the price comparison.”

Developers are happy to have proof of what they’ve been claiming all along. “I’m not at all surprised by the findings,” says Mark Huppert, principal with Seattle’s Catapult Community Developers. “The reality is that new multifamily housing–when appropriately designed to accommodate a retail, pedestrian, and neighborhood orientation–can in fact enhance the sense of activity and services. This report will serve as a tool for getting potential opponents to the table and will open up lines of communication before opposition can be formed.”

Feel free to contact me: Mike Bolen 707-254-9999 or email Mike@MikeBolen.com and I can direct you to some of the best multifamily deals in the area both advertised and “off market” pocket listings.

To read the study, visit http://web.mit.edu/cre/research/hai/40b.html.