Low-Income Homeownership, Housing Stability, and Health: Evidence from Detroit, Michigan
R Mehdipanah, M DewarAbstract
Background
Increasing owner occupancy helps increase housing stability, prevents property deterioration and helps improve neighborhood conditions. In Detroit, homeownership has decreased after decades of disinvestment and population loss, resulting in higher vacancies. This study examined a Detroit program that sold publicly owned houses to low-income households in 2017, and whether housing stability led to improvements in health over time, when compared to tax auctioned properties.
Methods
A total of 234 properties were followed for a period of four years. Surveys were conducted every 6 months and covered topics about the individuals, households, properties, and neighborhood conditions that may impact housing stability and health. For quantitative data, descriptive statistics and inferential tests, were used to compared key indicators between both groups, while applied multinomial logit regression models to assess changes in stability, property condition and health, over time. Qualitative data from open-ended responses were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results
After four years, 84% of owners living in program properties remained in their homes compared to only 27.1% in the comparison group. Thematic analysis showed that poor housing conditions and unexpected costs such as divorce and unemployment placed homeowners at greater risk for housing instability and poorer health. Most owners stated a need to repair their homes as they often needed major, expensive repairs to provide safe, healthy living conditions. However, they often lacked funding or resources and had no home insurance.
Conclusions
Homeownership programs targeted at low-income homeowners can improve housing stability, improve health and prevent properties from deteriorating. However, these programs must provide support for home repair to sustain stability and strengthen access to affordable housing as a public health intervention.