Postforeclosure Mobility for Households with Children in Public Schools

Abstract

Foreclosure likely results in substantial residential instability, but very few research efforts have attempted to quantify this residential instability or understand the effects of the residential instability caused by foreclosures as a distinct phenomenon. Using a unique data set of households with children enrolled in public schools that experienced a foreclosure in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between July 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007, this article assesses the postforeclosure mobility patterns of households. Research findings indicate that more than 90% of households in the sample moved and one-third exited the Minneapolis Public School system following a foreclosure. Economic deprivation was associated with reduced household mobility following a foreclosure regardless of housing tenure. Households that remained in Minneapolis following a foreclosure tended to move to neighborhoods with similar characteristics as their former neighborhoods but with elevated poverty levels and racial segregation in comparison to the city overall.