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Revealing the rapist next door: Property impacts of a sex offender registry

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  • Yeh, Susan

Abstract

How do homebuyers respond to perceived crime risks about sex offenders in the neighborhood? I evaluate local property and crime responses to Internet sex offender registry listings. Among more permanent listings, a nearby offender depresses house prices by up to 4 percentage points. I document that the majority of registered sex offenders are transient, with durations of less than 6 months at an address. While a growing literature suggests that housing stability is important in reducing criminal behavior, the market perceives heightened crime risks to be attached to the listings of registered offenders with more stable housing, but not to those who are transient or who have moved away. Prices correspond more strongly to long-term offender locations than to locations of actual sex crimes. I find small, localized reductions in rapes involving weapons within 0.1mi of offender addresses and increases in sex crimes farther away.

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  • Yeh, Susan, 2015. "Revealing the rapist next door: Property impacts of a sex offender registry," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 42-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:44:y:2015:i:c:p:42-60
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irle.2015.08.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhe Song & Chen Hao, 2022. "Housing price and criminal crime in China: direct and indirect influence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(40), pages 4647-4663, August.
    2. Hajnal István, 2017. "Evaluation of stigmatized properties," Organization, Technology and Management in Construction, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 1615-1626, December.
    3. John C Navarro & Matt Ruther, 2020. "A geospatial analysis between the sale prices of single-family properties and the presence of registered sex offenders in Jefferson County, Kentucky," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(5), pages 944-958, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    K42; K14; K11; R21; Property; Housing; Crime; Sex offenders;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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