The paper examines the impact of a comprehensive housing development program initiated by a nonprofit organization working in a small municipality in St. Louis County, Missouri. The development program includes rental housing, for sale housing and repair grants to existing residents. The analysis serves both as opportunity to test hedonic price modeling on the housing work and as an examination of the applicability of such techniques in evaluation of local community development efforts. The analysis finds evidence of price differential comparing municipal sales to sales within a comparable, larger geographic area, with a negative differential switching to positive over the time frame studied. However, sample sizes and other methodological issues make it difficult to ascertain a direct spill-over effect of investments for any of the three investment types within a 150′ area around project sites.
Project: Pagedale Development Project
Citation
Winter, W., & Elliott, W., III. (2008). Measuring the impact of a community revitalization program: The case of Beyond Housing in Pagedale, Missouri (CSD Working Paper No. 08-15). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.