It's a Beautiful (and Expensive) Day in the Gayborhood

The premium for a home in a gayborhood can be nearly four times the typical home value, but some cities see a discount

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May 23, 2019, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In most major cities in the United States, homes in gayborhoods are worth more than the typical home – in some cases several times more.

To identify gayborhoods across the country ahead of Pride Month, Zillow® analyzed data from the American Community Survey to find which neighborhoods have the highest share of same-sex couple households compared with others in the areaⁱ.

The neighborhood with the highest share is North Banker's Hill, San Diego, where 10.1 percent of households are same-sex couples. The North Banker's Hill housing premium is about 25 percent – the typical North Banker's Hill home is worth $792,400, compared with the citywide median value of $632,600.

West Palm Springs in California has the second-highest share of same-sex couple households at 9.2 percent, but homes there come with a much higher premium. Homes in West Palm Springs are worth more than three times as much as the typical home in the broader Riverside metro.

In fact, there are 10 major cities where home values in the gayborhood are more than double the community at large, including Houston, Charlotte and Philadelphia. That's not to say home values are necessarily higher simply because it's the gayborhood. Other factors could be driving the premium; gayborhoods are often close to amenities like bars, restaurants, and job centers.

There are a few places where gayborhoods buck this trend. In the downtown area of San Jose, Calif., homes are worth 38.1 percent less than the typical San Jose home. The area also has the smallest share of same-sex couples in the analysis at 1.1 percent. Gayborhoods in San Antonio and Kansas City have a similar discount on housing.

"The narrative of gayborhoods as a signal for rapid home value appreciation and gentrification has been around for decades, with Greenwich Village and the Castro long held up as examples," said Zillow Director of Economic Research Skylar Olsen. "Today, the story is a little different. While these neighborhoods still foster a sense of community and social acceptance, living within them often comes at premium many may not be able to afford. This has a disproportionate effect on intersectional LGBTQ people —not just gay, but a person of color, transgender, a woman—those who are disadvantaged when it comes to earning potential."

Housing Market (by city unless specified)	Gayborhood	Percent Same- Sex Couples	Typical Gayborhood Home Value	Typical Home Value	Premium
New York	West South-Central Manhattan (Upper West Side to West Village)	3.4%	$1,478,149	$681,600	116.9%
Los Angeles County	West Hollywood	4.8%	$822,200	$618,600	32.9%
Chicago	Edgewater to Lakeview	3.7%	$299,506	$230,400	30.0%
Dallas	Oak Lawn	2.3%	$322,900	$217,000	48.8%
Philadelphia	Area surrounding Lombard-South Station	3.5%	$550,048	$160,900	241.9%
Houston	Neartown - Montrose	2.9%	$514,000	$187,800	173.7%
Washington, DC	Logan Circle and surrounding areas	4.0%	$697,200	$580,100	20.2%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale Metro	Wilton Manors	8.8%	$374,200	$284,900	31.3%
Atlanta	Midtown	3.0%	$305,700	$261,200	17.0%
Boston	Meeting House Hill (Dorchester)	7.9%	$640,600	$603,600	6.1%
San Francisco	Castro	8.6%	$1,767,128	$1,353,500	30.6%
Detroit Metro	Pleasant Ridge	5.6%	$330,100	$162,200	103.5%
Riverside Metro	West Palm Springs	9.2%	$1,229,500	$369,200	233.0%
Phoenix	South Central Encanto	6.4%	$442,400	$242,600	82.4%
Seattle	Central District (Minor, Madison Valley, Leschi)	3.0%	$729,911	$726,500	0.5%
Minneapolis	Bryn Mawr	7.6%	$406,000	$267,900	51.5%
San Diego	North Banker's Hill	10.1%	$792,400	$632,600	25.3%
St. Louis	Shaw - South Grand	3.8%	$238,126	$119,500	99.3%
Tampa-St. Petersburg Metro	Southeast Gulfport	7.6%	$236,700	$214,300	10.5%
Denver	Golden Triangle	4.2%	$512,700	$394,735	29.9%
Portland	Northwest, West of 23rd	6.3%	$850,100	$425,500	99.8%
Charlotte	Plaza Midwood	4.7%	$470,800	$225,500	108.8%
Sacramento	Northern Land Park	2.6%	$553,900	$327,200	69.3%
San Antonio	South Arena District/Southeast Denver Heights	4.0%	$111,500	$176,800	-36.9%
Orlando	Audubon Park & Coytown	5.4%	$307,200	$241,800	27.0%
Cincinnati	Clifton	2.0%	$306,600	$146,400	109.4%
Cleveland	Riverside	3.1%	$221,000	$ 56,100	293.9%
Kansas City	Longfellow	5.7%	$251,300	$394,735	-36.3%
Las Vegas	East Paradise	4.9%	$217,510	$276,500	-21.3%
Columbus	Victorian Village	4.7%	$375,800	$156,200	140.6%
Indianapolis	Overlap of Broad Ripple and Meridian Kessler	5.8%	$334,600	$144,200	132.0%
San Jose	Downtown	1.1%	$553,900	$895,200	-38.1%
Austin	Galindo	3.4%	$463,800	$368,800	25.8%
Virginia Beach Metro	Lafayette-Winona (Norfolk, VA)	2.6%	$224,200	$230,200	-2.6%
Nashville	Lockeland Springs	3.1%	$472,700	$266,000	77.7%

Zillow

Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow Group's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists, data analysts, applied scientists and engineers produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

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ⁱ The lack of ACS data on gender identity and sexual orientation means that single LGBTQ people cannot be identified. As a result, areas with high concentrations of LGBTQ singles are absent in this analysis.

SOURCE Zillow