A Comparable Market Analysis procedure, used by professional realtors, was employed to determine the impact of group homes for the mentally retarded upon surrounding property values in two medium-sized Iowa communities. Results indicated no negative property value effects in six of eight instances. In the two remaining cases, selling prices of homes within a one-block radius of a group home were actually higher than comparable properties not near group homes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BreslowS. (1976). The effect of siting of group homes on surrounding environments. Unpublished manuscript. (Available from the National Institute on Mental Retardation, Toronto, Canada.)
2.
LauberD. & BangsF. S.Jr. (1974). Zoning for family and group care facilities (Planning Advisory Service Report No. 300). Chicago: American Society of Planning Officials.
3.
WolpertJ. (1978). Group homes for the mentally retarded: An investigation of neighborhood property impacts (A report prepared for the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Albany, NY; August, 1978).
4.
BakerB. L., SeltzerG. B., & SeltzerM. M. (1974). As close as possible: Community residences for retarded adults. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
5.
BerdianskyH. A., & ParkerR. (1977). Establishing a group home for the adult mentally retarded in North Carolina. Mental Retardation, 15, 8–11.
6.
BruininksR. H., HauberH. A., & KudlaM. J. (1980). National survey of community residential facilities: A profile of facilities and residences in 1977. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 84, 470–478.
7.
DearM. (1977). Impact of mental health facilities on property values. Community Mental Health Journal, 13, 150–157.
8.
KastnerL. S., ReppucciN. D., & PezzoliJ. J. (1979). Assessing community attitudes towards mentally retarded persons. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 83, 137–144.
9.
LuckleyR. E., & NewmanR. S. (1975). President's panel recommendations today. Mental Retardation, 13, 32–35.
10.
MamulaR. A., & NewmanN. (1973). Community placement of the mentally retarded. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Co.
11.
O'ConnorG. (1976). Home is a good place: A national perspective of community residence facilities for developmentally disabled persons. Washington: American Association on Mental Deficiency.
12.
ParksA. W. (1978). A model for psychological consultation to community residence-pressures, problems and program types. Mental Retardation, 16, 149–152.
13.
ScheerenbergerR. C. (1978). Public residential facilities for the mentally retarded. In EllisN. R. (Ed.), International review of research in mental retardation (Vol. 9). New York: Academic Press.
14.
SigelmanC. K., SpanhelC. L., & LorenzenC. D. (1979). Community reactions to deinstitutionalization. Journal of Rehabilitation, 45(1), 53–55.
15.
WeberD. E. (1978). Neighborhood entry in group homes. Child Welfare, 57, 627–642.
