Does Condominium Development Lead to Gentrification?

NBER Working Paper No. 26170

Issued in August 2019

NBER Program(s):Development of the American Economy



The condominium structure, which facilitates ownership of units in multi-family buildings, was only introduced to the US during the 1960s. We ask whether the subsequent development of condominiums encouraged high-income households to move to central cities. Although we document a strong positive correlation between condominium density and resident income, this association is entirely driven by endogenous development of condos in areas otherwise attractive to high-income households. When we instrument for condo density using the passage of municipal regulations limiting condo conversions, we find little association between condo development and resident income, education or race.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w26170