Housing
HOAs Are Popular Where Prejudice Is Strong and Government Is Weak
A new study finds that higher percentages of wealthy, Asian, and white residents live in HOAs; and people pay a premium of about 4 percent for homes in HOAs.
Homeowners love to complain about homeowners associations, or HOAs. The seemingly ubiquitous private organizations limit what people can do on their own property, and charge for the pleasure.
But people keep living in them, and now a new study suggests why. Despite their frustrations and costs, HOAs appear to deliver real value to homeowners. Researchers Wyatt Clarke and Matthew Freedman created a database of millions of home sales covering 90 percent of the U.S. population, and found homes in HOAs sell for more money than similar homes outside HOAs.