Baltimore Sun: Devaluing Black neighborhoods: Redfin accused of the latest form of redlining

The remnants of decades old redlining policies that starved Black neighborhoods of capital investment are still very much alive. Neighborhoods once marked in red on maps by bankers and realtors as high risk areas are in many cases still struggling to catch up in value to white neighborhoods that were systemically given an advantage. Today, these neighborhoods are low to moderate income, according to one analysis by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and located in cities with incessant economic inequalities and extremely segregated neighborhoods. The home values also tend to be lower in these neighborhoods and the houses older.

Now real estate services company Redfin Corporation has been accused by several housing groups, including the National Fair Housing Alliance, of perpetuating the problem with a form of modern-day “digital redlining.” The groups filed a lawsuit that accused Redfin of offering its services in several cities, including Baltimore, to white neighborhoods at much higher rates than neighborhoods mostly made up of residents of color. This was enabled by a policy that set minimum listing prices for housing markets, under which the company would not offer any real estate brokerage services to buyers or sellers.