Immigrating, Assimilating, Cashing in? Analyzing Property Values in Suburbs of Immigrant Gateways

Assets like properties determine opportunities. Many immigrants have begun to bypass cities and move straight to suburbs. Until the recent house price crash, suburbs had been perceived as locations where appreciation rates were high, but this perception might no longer hold true. Not many studies have focused on suburban house prices with regard to race, ethnicity, and nativity. This study fills the gap in terms of nativity. This study uses data from the 2000 US Census and the 2005-2009 American Community Survey to perform regression analyses to analyze immigrant gateways as delineated by Singer (2008) with regard to median values of owner-occupied housing units and the factors that influence median values, while also differentiating between inner cities and suburbs. Results show that there are differences in terms of values and appreciation rates among suburbs of immigrant gateways, indicating different economic integration patterns.