Fixing Up After Tearing Down: The Impact of Demolitions on Residential Investment

Abstract

Does the presence of blighted housing affect nearby property owner’s decision to maintain their units? Does demolishing these distressed houses increase maintenance investment? In this paper, I examine these questions by testing whether exposure to targeted demolitions of abandoned and distressed housing affects changes in the external condition of nearby houses. Using data from two waves of a property survey in Cleveland, OH, my models suggest that, compared to a control group of houses exposed to vacant housing, proximity to demolitions decrease the likelihood that a property’s condition deteriorated between 2015 and 2018 and increase the likelihood that it improved.