The effectiveness of Habitat for Humanity as a neighborhood stabilization program: The case of Charlotte, North Carolina

Abstract

Habitat for Humanity has been in operation since 1976 as a popular organization that provides housing to low-income families. In more recent years, the organization has gradually shifted its priorities toward becoming a more holistic neighborhood stabilization program, receiving a large amount of federal funding to help stabilize neighborhoods in the wake of the Great Recession. Very limited research has been done to assess the effectiveness of Habitat construction on neighborhood outcomes. This article provides a quantitative assessment of housing price values in Charlotte, North Carolina in neighborhoods that underwent a greater than average amount of Habitat construction compared to a set of similar neighborhoods with no Habitat activity. Using an adjusted interrupted time series model, we find little evidence that Habitat had a substantive impact on housing values compared to control neighborhoods.

Keywords:

• Habitat for Humanity
• housing prices
• neighborhood

Notes

1. In both cases, two neighborhoods with a high concentration of Habitat activity during the decade 1990-2000 were excluded from this analysis, as their construction activity occurred much earlier than that in the rest of the city, which took place after 2000.