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I think alot of the reason why gayborhoods are percieved as expensive is because most live in condo/high-density-housing which tends to be more expensive when in a neighborhood combined with houses. Houses in a high-quality, high-density, high-amount of retail urban neighborhood are going to be very, very, very high regardless of concentration of gays and lesbians. That seems to be the sort of devolopment alot of the younger gay generation is interested in. Areas like Capitol Hill or Chessman Park in Denver, Loring Park in Minneapolis, Victorian Village in Columbus all are some of the densest neighborhoods in their cities adjacent to the downtowns. Most gayborhoods seem to be close to downtowns which boosts property values also, additionally gay-oriented neighborhood tend to have high amounts of retail density, historic architecture and urban amenities which naturally causes them to be more expensive.
Besides even in Capitol Hill in Denver, Loring Park in Minneapolis and Victorian Village in Columbus their are still probubly more straights then gays. It seems like gayborhoods for some reason tend to draw very high concentrations of highly-educated professional young women also. I would say the concentrations in these neighborhoods of highly-educated professional single young women is about the same as the gay population in these neighborhoods. Not only that but it seems like gayborhoods have a tendency at least from what I have seen because of the dense housing stock of apartments and condo's to have high concentrations of senior-citizens.
Its not the gays that raise the property values so much as they the neighborhoods gays tend to choose to live in tend to very good neighborhoods. I am sure their are some gay devolopers who have devoloped certained downwards neighborhoods so maybe thats where the stereotype comes from. But I just dont think gays are the ones who increase property values that much.
Overall, it seems like gayborhood's apartment/condo unit sizes in Minneapolis, Denver and Columbus, Ohio tend to be very small. Lots of 300-500 square foot apartments and condo's in the gayborhoods followed by massive mansions. These are in cities with lots of homes which are very large so thats the contrast of density and square footage in these neighborhods.
It seems like as far as gaycentric neighborhoods go alot of gays in their 20s and early 30s like these sort of dense areas and alot of gays settle, but there are also alot of gay-couples who relocate to smaller cities once they have enjoyed a decade of the gay scene and are in a commited relationship.
One would be suprised how many older gay couples live in smaller midwestern cities such as Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Indy does not have much gay culture. It was a lot more gay 5-7 years ago, but then some anti-gay laws got passed and a huge chunk left, with a sizable portion ending up in Columbus, OH. Indy's gay scene now is pretty flat.
As a gay person myself, here is my respectful hypothesis of why a sudden influx of gays tends to boost property values. Gay males (and lesbians), on average, don't have children, which leaves them with more discretionary income to spend on purchasing and refurbishing a home. They don't have to worry about a college fund, buying Junior a car, or any of the other costs normally associated with having a child, so they tend to have more "money to burn." As such, while most straight couples with children might strive to spend only 1/3 of their total net income on housing, gays/lesbians might be willing to expend more than 1/2 of their total net income.
For example, I foresee myself likely being a six-figure earner in the future due to my entrepreneurial spirit and passion for sales. If I'm raking in
$100,000+ net annually with no dependents (I can't find a mate and won't adopt children without a mate), then I have a large chunk of change available at my disposal to purchase a home at an inflated price (such as the ones in Scranton's historic districts, one of which is under contract for over $1.5 Million!).
We gays also tend to coneisseurs of homes from the "Gilded Age." We're the ones who will flock to a transitioning urban neighborhood to help gentrify it simply because we like the Gingerbread appointments on the homes there. Most us don't like the bland vinyl-sided, two-car-garage-dominated suburban cul-de-sac homes, so we end up increasing demand for urban options, including lofts. An increase in demand leads to an increase in price, I'm sorry to say.
Essentially: The GLBT community seems to have much more discretionary income at their disposal to invest in housing.
Though I agree with you about gays having more disposable income, you seem to be talking about ritzy areas getting ritzier...if you are buying a home at an already inflated rate, honestly how can a couple more gays in the hood make it even more inflated? It might to a small degree, but I notice something totally different and can speak from experience as well.
It is not just the gays that send property values soaring...it is a combination of gays, artists, musicians, etc....the "creative class" if you will. The average income from an individual belonging to this group is nothing to call home about...
What happens is as follows:
You have a bland, run down, flavorless neighborhood. Eventually, a few from the creative class move in and call it home OUT OF NESSESITY. I say necessity, because this run down neighborhood offers cheaper housing than any other around it. While these folks are living there, they do little things to make their homes or apartments even look better. They also might encourage friends (other gays, artists & musicians) to move near by. They might provide some much needed "flavor" to the street by simply sitting outside painting. Some of these folks might be brave enough to open up a cheapo art gallery/coffee house or something. These little hole in the wall type establishments give vital nutrients and energy to any hood.
The seeds are now in place.
It is only a matter of time before big time developers with big time dollars "find" this neighborhood. Once they see a small creative class thriving in a neighborhood a short time ago known for nothing but crime and sleaze, they think to themselves "bingo". They buy up as much property as cheaply as possible, rehab it and flip it, or rehab it and rent it out to more up market establishments.
Soon, the ALL the rents in the neighborhood go up as owners get greedy, the creative class moves out because they can no longer afford the neighborhood they helped rise from ruin, and the rich have a newly gentrified playground.
I've seen it so many times. Edgewater/Morningside districts in Miami...Alberta Street in Portland; I could go on and on.
It is always the low income creative class who are responsible for turning bad neighborhoods into gold.
Really good insight, imo. I've seen Soho go gold; Williamsburg turn ashen; and Chelsea go pink (all NYC). And even in Providence, I saw the old jewelry district try to become a haven for artists and "creative types" at affordable prices. Creative, workabee types all got priced out!
Just before I left NYC, another of our neighbourhoods with a few dozen artists aka creative types started to get excited about a place to have reasonable sutdios. As soon as word got out that we were planning to take over two run-down industrial buildings, the investors poured in--and we got outpriced, and outsourced again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by acs.1979
Though I agree with you about gays having more disposable income, you seem to be talking about ritzy areas getting ritzier...if you are buying a home at an already inflated rate, honestly how can a couple more gays in the hood make it even more inflated? It might to a small degree, but I notice something totally different and can speak from experience as well.
It is not just the gays that send property values soaring...it is a combination of gays, artists, musicians, etc....the "creative class" if you will. The average income from an individual belonging to this group is nothing to call home about...
What happens is as follows:
You have a bland, run down, flavorless neighborhood. Eventually, a few from the creative class move in and call it home OUT OF NESSESITY. I say necessity, because this run down neighborhood offers cheaper housing than any other around it. While these folks are living there, they do little things to make their homes or apartments even look better. They also might encourage friends (other gays, artists & musicians) to move near by. They might provide some much needed "flavor" to the street by simply sitting outside painting. Some of these folks might be brave enough to open up a cheapo art gallery/coffee house or something. These little hole in the wall type establishments give vital nutrients and energy to any hood.
The seeds are now in place.
It is only a matter of time before big time developers with big time dollars "find" this neighborhood. Once they see a small creative class thriving in a neighborhood a short time ago known for nothing but crime and sleaze, they think to themselves "bingo". They buy up as much property as cheaply as possible, rehab it and flip it, or rehab it and rent it out to more up market establishments.
Soon, the ALL the rents in the neighborhood go up as owners get greedy, the creative class moves out because they can no longer afford the neighborhood they helped rise from ruin, and the rich have a newly gentrified playground.
I've seen it so many times. Edgewater/Morningside districts in Miami...Alberta Street in Portland; I could go on and on.
It is always the low income creative class who are responsible for turning bad neighborhoods into gold.
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Most us don't like the bland vinyl-sided, two-car-garage-dominated suburban cul-de-sac homes, so we end up increasing demand for urban options, including lofts. An increase in demand leads to an increase in price, I'm sorry to say.
And even in Providence, I saw the old jewelry district try to become a haven for artists and "creative types" at affordable prices. Creative, workabee types all got priced out!
