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Jazz 91.9 WCLK | Membership Matters

The Local Take Talks to South Dekalb Improvement Association About African American Home Valuation

South Dekalb African American Community
South Dekalb

Wayne Early is an economist and realtor who is a member of the South Dekalb Improvement Association.  He spoke with us about Home Valuation and Appraisal Discrimination. 

We discussed lagging home prices in African American neighborhoods and the challenges that home owners face when selling their homes. He spoke about the Realtor rules and regulations that have begun to evolve but once considered it unethical to show African Americans homes in majority White neighborhood. 

South DeKalb, GA is known as one of the richest African American counties in the nation. Even with golf courses and parks the homes in this area (few foreclosures since 2012) continue to lag in value when compared to other neighborhoods since the Great Recession. Comparable communities on the north side of DeKalb County have seen home values grow to levels before the market downturn.

Wayne Early speaks about research done by top institutions like Georgia Tech which show that crime and property upkeep in South DeKalb is comparable to North DeKalb.   In fact, Mr. Early shares with us that the crime rate in South DeKalb is lower than crime rates in North DeKalb.

Housing discrimination is institutional in the United States and the new red-lining has moved to home valuation which wipes out the opportunity for generational wealth for the African American Community.

For more information on the South DeKalb Improvement Association.

Read more about America's Great Housing Divide.