A Tale of Two Appraisals Highlights Racism in Real Estate

Despite there being laws in place against it, there continue to be many cases where people of color have noted that their homes were valued for less money based on racial biases of appraisers.  A black homeowner in Indiana decided to check whether she was being victimized herself.

After suspecting that she was low-balled in not one but two home appraisals, Carlette Duffy decided to ask a white friend to take her place during a third appraisal. 

After Duffy receiving the two low appraisals,  Duffy provided the appropriate paperwork to counter the rationale given in the appraisals.  CityWidek mortgage refused to make any changes despite this documentation.

In order to see if her appraisals were actually as data-driven as the appraisers argued, Duffy did not declare her race or gender during the application for her third appraisal and only communicated via email. As the time for the appraisal drew nearer, she told the lender she would be out of town and that her brother would be home. Her friend’s white husband then filled in as her brother.

“I staged my home to look as ethnically neutral as possible,” she said. Duffy took down pictures of herself and removed African American art and any books that might indicate her race.

The decision nearly doubled her home’s value.  After initially being appraised at $125,000 and $110,000, Duffy’s home was valued to $259,000, the Indianapolis Star reported. "I had to go through all of that just to say that I was right and that this is what's happening," Duffy said. "This is real."

This isn’t an isolated case. Multiple incidents have been reported in which Black homeowners have been discriminated against and been given significantly lower appraisals than their white counterparts. Additionally, studies have found that homes in neighborhoods where there is a higher population of Black people are valued at about half the price of those with no Black residents, according to Brookings Institution.

In a similar incident to Duffy’s, a California couple went viral after unveiling that their home was undervalued by more than $500,000 before their second appraisal during which they had white friends pose as the owners, ABC 7 News reported.

“I want to see the system changed,” Duffy said. “I don’t know if we can, but I’m up for the fight.”