DIY History | Transcribe | Social Justice | Civil rights and race relations materials, 1957-1964 | What You Can Do About Racial Prejudice In Housing Page 15

Transcribe
Translate

Civil rights and race relations materials, 1957-1964

What You Can Do About Racial Prejudice In Housing Page 15

the dwelling itself. And much depends, too, on the selling price of the property. A fair price that leaves the purchaser enough money to properly maintain the property and make needed repairs results in better upkeep than a gouging price that takes advantage of the Negro's desperate need for housing and his willingness to pay more than the going price to get it.
Here, again, the stereotyped view that Negroes destroy property, based on the slum conditions with which many whites associate Negroes, can be shown to be erroneous. Generally, Negroes are more anxious than many of their white neighbors to maintain their property in the best possible condition. They have the same interest in maintaining their investment that whites have, and the same civic interest in their neighborhoods.
The often expressed feat that Negroes will not be able to keep up the payments on their homes and therefore will be forced to sell to people of lower classes at a lower price is also disproved by experience. Many leaders in the mortgage loan business report that there is no difference between the mortgage delinquency rates of whites and Negroes.[8]
Q: When a few Negro families break the color-line in a neighborhood, don't many more Negroes soon follow?
The fear of inundation by Negroes, confirmed by what has actually happened in some communities, is usually very great in neighborhoods which see the first Negro families arriving. This fear, and the fear of financial loss, often results in a flood of homes onto the market. Often, unscrupulous real estate dealers engage in "block-busting" to increase white panic and accelerate the process...and thus have more "deals" to handle.
But many communities have been able to resist these pressures by convincing themselves (as mentioned above) that it is not the arrival of Negroes that depresses prices and invites a rapid turnover of property, but the panic-stricken exodus of a large number of white families. Signs
15

Saving...

the dwelling itself. And much depends, too, on the selling price of the property. A fair price that leaves the purchaser enough money to properly maintain the property and make needed repairs results in better upkeep than a gouging price that takes advantage of the Negro's desperate need for housing and his willingness to pay more than the going price to get it. Here, again, the stereotyped view that Negroes destroy property, based on the slum conditions with which many whites associate Negroes, can be shown to be erroneous. Generally, Negroes are more anxious than many of their white neighbors to maintain their property in the best possible condition. They have the same interest in maintaining their investment that whites have, and the same civic interest in their neighborhoods. The often expressed feat that Negroes will not be able to keep up the payments on their homes and therefore will be forced to sell to people of lower classes at a lower price is also disproved by experience. Many leaders in the mortgage loan business report that there is no difference between the mortgage delinquency rates of whites and Negroes.[8] Q: When a few Negro families break the color-line in a neighborhood, don't many more Negroes soon follow? The fear of inundation by Negroes, confirmed by what has actually happened in some communities, is usually very great in neighborhoods which see the first Negro families arriving. This fear, and the fear of financial loss, often results in a flood of homes onto the market. Often, unscrupulous real estate dealers engage in "block-busting" to increase white panic and accelerate the process...and thus have more "deals" to handle. But many communities have been able to resist these pressures by convincing themselves (as mentioned above) that it is not the arrival of Negroes that depresses prices and invites a rapid turnover of property, but the panic-stricken exodus of a large number of white families. Signs 15