Study: ‘Gay’ Neighborhoods Have Higher Values

Trulia, San Francisco, and OkCupid wanted to know, as part of Pride Month, the correlation between where gays live and their corresponding home values.

What they discovered is that there is a correlation–and a positive one at that.
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The study found the relative cost of housing in gay neighborhoods has increased more drastically in some cities than others. The biggest change occurred in New York, where living in a gay neighborhood went from pricey (106% more than other neighborhoods on average) to, the study said, really, really pricey (162% more).

Today, New York City residential property costs on average $567 per square foot,” the study noted. “But in a gay neighborhood in NYC, it climbs to $659 a square foot.”

In about one-third of metro areas examined, however, the premium of living in a gay neighborhood actually declined. Five years ago in Miami, for example, it cost 73% more to live in these areas than elsewhere, but today, these neighborhoods cost only 60% more.

“We still wouldn’t call that a bargain, but at least it’s a shift in the right direction-at least from the perspective of potential residents,” the study said.

In San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento, Calif., the study saw similar trends: gay neighborhoods are more expensive than everywhere else, but relatively less expensive than they were in 2012.

The study reported the most gay-, lesbian- and bisexual-populated neighborhood in the U.S. today is West Hollywood, Calif. Here, same-sex couples make up nearly half of all households (48%) and some 28% of OkCupid members identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Close seconds for same-sex households include the Castro in San Francisco; Dallas’s Uptown neighborhood; and Palm Springs, Calif.