Blockbusting
Definition of "Blockbusting"
Blockbusting is a despicable and illegal racist business practice.
Here’s how Blockbusting happens: a real estate agent, or someone posing as one, comes to a homeowner and instills him (or her) with fear of racial minorities, saying and showing bogus stats that a large number of whatever minority the homeowner prejudicially feared was moving into their neighborhood in large numbers. Because of that, the homeowner would sell the property for a lower market price, and, in turn, the alleged real estate agent would sell at a higher market price to the exact minority the original owner feared.
The practice of blockbusting has been done to White, Black, Jews, and Foreign people, but the most notorious blockbusting practices were done with White and Black, after 1910 when over a million African American from the rural southern states of the United States of America moved north to industrialized cities in need of workers due to the World War I, which recruited many workers to serve in the US Army. The scars of Civil War and Slavery were still open, so profiteers would take advantage of that, and even hire “actors” to create a sense of overwhelming presence of black people in traditionally white neighborhoods.
Blockbusting practices were nationally exposed in the 1960’s with the civil rights movement. Because of it, stricter federal real estate laws were conceived, which made blockbusting harder. For instance: door-to-door real estate solicitation got restricted in several states to avoid blockbusting. The most important measure against blockbusting, however, was 1968’s Fair Housing Act which made (by law) religion, race, and ethnicity of a neighborhood’s inhabitants part of what a real estate agent can’t tell a home buyer client when showing a house.
Work only with credible real estate agents! Find one at The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory®.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Legal mechanism available for a person who is over his head financially and is unable to meet his financial obligations. ...
A hidden or overlooked defect that may manifest itself at a later point in time. For example, a defect in a water pipe is not immediately discovered, and it later results in a massive water ...
Decline in value of real estate property because it is near something which is damaging to its worth. For example, a house located next to a pollution treatment center, drug center, or ...
If you’re looking for the real estate agent definition, you’re in the right place. So, in the following paragraphs, we will try to examine the complex job of a real estate ...
A clause that may be inserted in a listing agreement stating no commission will be paid to the broker until the property title has actually been transferred. Normally, willing and able ...
Agreement between a lending institution and borrower where the borrower agrees to extend or spread the collateral of a loan to additional properties beyond the original mortgaged property. ...
Same as term resale proceeds: Net amount received when property is sold. It equals the selling price less outstanding mortgage balance less all costs incurred in connection with the sale. ...
The economic indicators that trail behind aggregate economic activity. Six lagging indicators issued by the government consisting of unemployment rate, corporate expenditures, labor cost ...
Primary business district of a city or urbanized area having the areas major governmental offices, professional, and retail businesses represented. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.