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
A two-story house characterized by a balcony spanning the width of the second story. Monterey architecture was adopted from the early California Spanish period. ...
A loan used for acquiring land. Loans used to purchase unimproved land have more risk than a mortgage to purchase improved property, thus, land loans traditionally have a somewhat higher ...
A lease granted for the right to explore for and recover oil and gas on a specific parcel of property. The terms of an oil and gas lease specify the length of time of the contract, the ...
In order to define the rate of return on investment, or more commonly known as ROI we are also going to explain how it can be calculated and what to look for in the return rate. Investing ...
Economic or physical life of a fixed asset. The property is depreciated over the period benefited. ...
(1) Right to engage in and earn from a particular activity in return for services or for a particular use. (2) Reduced price used as an incentive. (3) Permission or right, granted by a ...
The value of property subject to tax. The tax equals the tax rate multiplied by the property's value. ...
A land property estate contingent upon the occurrence or lack of occurrence of a particular event whereupon it can be created, augmented, or dismantled. ...
In-ground watering system generally controlled by a digital timer that waters the grass and shrubbery of a property. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.