The impact of COVID-19 on rental housing market in minority neighborhoods

Keywords: Rental housing, Neighborhoods, COVID-19, Spatial
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has an unprecedented impact on rental housing in the United States given the rental housing market is large. According to the data from American Community Survey (ACS), in 2018, the U.S. had 122 million households: 78 million were homeowners, and 44 million were renters. The median annual household income of homeowners is $37,000 higher than that of renters. Most low-income, nonwhite, and immigrant households are renters who have been affected severely during the pandemic. However, it is still not known how the impact varies between different neighborhoods when the spatial dimension is considered at the neighborhood level. The study will use Franklin County in Ohio as a case study to answer several questions: What are the changes in the rental housing market in minority and low-income neighborhoods during the pandemic? Are the changes even or uneven between different neighborhoods? Are the changes more dramatic in minority neighborhoods and do they exacerbate social inequality? Spatial analysis and visualization will be used to confirm and demonstrate the changing spatial patterns and characteristics.