Recap: Undervalued: Appraisal Bias in Massachusetts
April 30, 2025
Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, welcomed the audience at the Edgerley Center for Civic Leadership and those online to a forum on Appraisal Discrimination in Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. He connected the forum to the Foundation’s initiative to close the racial wealth gap in Boston. Pelton emphasized that “homeownership remains a primary driver of household and generational wealth in our country.” He stated that appraisal discrimination is a significant barrier to wealth accumulation, estimating that it costs Black homeowners a total of $162,000,000 a year across the 113 metro areas in the U.S. with at least one majority-Black neighborhood (Brookings Institution). Pelton concluded by calling combating appraisal bias an “important step towards building wealth in our communities and making our state a more equitable place to live, to work, and to study, and to raise families.”
Ruthzee Louijuene, President of Boston City Council, spoke next, affirming that making housing accessible and affordable is a top priority for the City Council. She introduced paired testing as a method to identify appraisal bias by comparing appraisals of the same home with a Black homeowner present versus a White homeowner present. Louijuene also discussed the use of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs), warning that AVMs built on biased data will encode prejudice, and that “equity cannot be automated. It has to be intentionally designed and actively maintained.”
Courtney Brunson, Director of the Partnership to Close the Racial Wealth Gap at the Boston Foundation, brought panelists to the stage: Danyl Collings, Principal and Chief Appraiser at DC Valuations; Whitney Demetrius, Director of Fair Housing for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Jacob Love, Senior Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights; and Charu Singh, Founder of JustValue. Brunson prompted the panelists to explain appraisal bias, how discriminatory appraisals look, and how homeowners can recognize if it has occurred.
Collings stressed the importance of homeowners educating themselves about their home before an appraisal and cross-checking the appraisal for basic information. Singh advised homeowners to ensure their appraiser has experience in the neighborhood. She also suggested homeowners be prepared to educate their appraiser on comparable properties if the chosen comparisons are inadequate.
Brunson shifted the discussion to the long-term consequences of appraisal discrimination on individual wealth accumulation and the racial wealth gap.
Singh presented data indicating that equal appreciation rates across races could reduce wealth gaps between Black and White populations by 16 percent and between Latino and White populations by 40 percent, showing the significant role of housing in wealth building (Demos).
Ruthzee Louijuene, President of Boston City Council, spoke next, affirming that making housing accessible and affordable is a top priority for the City Council. She introduced paired testing as a method to identify appraisal bias by comparing appraisals of the same home with a Black homeowner present versus a White homeowner present. Louijuene also discussed the use of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs), warning that AVMs built on biased data will encode prejudice, and that “equity cannot be automated. It has to be intentionally designed and actively maintained.”
Courtney Brunson, Director of the Partnership to Close the Racial Wealth Gap at the Boston Foundation, brought panelists to the stage: Danyl Collings, Principal and Chief Appraiser at DC Valuations; Whitney Demetrius, Director of Fair Housing for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Jacob Love, Senior Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights; and Charu Singh, Founder of JustValue. Brunson prompted the panelists to explain appraisal bias, how discriminatory appraisals look, and how homeowners can recognize if it has occurred.
Collings stressed the importance of homeowners educating themselves about their home before an appraisal and cross-checking the appraisal for basic information. Singh advised homeowners to ensure their appraiser has experience in the neighborhood. She also suggested homeowners be prepared to educate their appraiser on comparable properties if the chosen comparisons are inadequate.
Brunson shifted the discussion to the long-term consequences of appraisal discrimination on individual wealth accumulation and the racial wealth gap.
Singh presented data indicating that equal appreciation rates across races could reduce wealth gaps between Black and White populations by 16 percent and between Latino and White populations by 40 percent, showing the significant role of housing in wealth building (Demos).
Agenda
Welcome & Opening Remarks
M. Lee Pelton, President and CEO, The Boston Foundation
Ruthzee Louijuene, President, Boston City Council
Panel Discussion
Courtney Brunson, Director, Racial Wealth Gap Partnership, The Boston Foundation (moderator)
Danyl Collings, Principal and Chief Appraiser, DC Valuations
Whitney Demetrius, Director of Fair Housing, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
Jacob Love, Senior Attorney, Lawyers for Civil Rights
Charu Singh, Founder, JustValue
Audience Q&A
Closing Remarks
Soni Gupta, Associate Vice President, Programs, The Boston Foundation
Demetrius highlighted that appraisal bias is systemic and requires intentional effort to undo and remedy its larger impact beyond just the home’s value, such as a household’s ability to pay for medical bills. “We’re being intentional in how we undo, how we remedy, and how we redress those things, because it has this larger impact,” she said. “Imagine if you have some kind of health disparity and you need to be able to pay for that or take care of a loved one who's aging[...] what are we really talking about in terms of loss, in addition to the dollars?”
The panel also delved into the history and mechanisms of appraisal bias. Love identified redlining as the most significant historical practice influencing modern appraisal bias. Redlining involves valuing homes based on racial composition and denying credit to minority areas. This denial of credit devalued properties by limiting investment, effectively embedding racist undervaluation into the appraisal system.
Love argued that the primary modern method, the sales comparison approach, perpetuates these patterns by relying on data influenced by past bias. In neighborhoods of color, this leads to undervaluation, which becomes a “force multiplier,” actively worsening things.
Singh shed light on the alternative appraisal method, AVMs, which are accurate in homogeneous settings like suburbs but less accurate with diverse housing. While AVMs have their time and place, Singh is trying to use them at JustValue to address systemic undervaluation.
Demetrius added that homogeneous settings where AVMs work best are often White-owned suburbs. She stressed the need to educate consumers about AVMs, as they often undervalue homes in neighborhoods of color and should not be widely regarded as accurate.
Love acknowledged that racism occurs with human and automated appraisers alike, but while proving intentional discrimination is difficult in court, human interactions sometimes include racially coded comments that can be used as evidence. “When you’re dealing with these big models, these algorithms, it just becomes a lot harder,” he said.
Soni Gupta, Associate Vice President of Programs at the Boston Foundation, concluded the event. She urged the audience to educate others about their rights and call their senators. Gupta’s closing message was to “stay tuned, stay interested, and stay committed.”
The panel also delved into the history and mechanisms of appraisal bias. Love identified redlining as the most significant historical practice influencing modern appraisal bias. Redlining involves valuing homes based on racial composition and denying credit to minority areas. This denial of credit devalued properties by limiting investment, effectively embedding racist undervaluation into the appraisal system.
Love argued that the primary modern method, the sales comparison approach, perpetuates these patterns by relying on data influenced by past bias. In neighborhoods of color, this leads to undervaluation, which becomes a “force multiplier,” actively worsening things.
Singh shed light on the alternative appraisal method, AVMs, which are accurate in homogeneous settings like suburbs but less accurate with diverse housing. While AVMs have their time and place, Singh is trying to use them at JustValue to address systemic undervaluation.
Demetrius added that homogeneous settings where AVMs work best are often White-owned suburbs. She stressed the need to educate consumers about AVMs, as they often undervalue homes in neighborhoods of color and should not be widely regarded as accurate.
Love acknowledged that racism occurs with human and automated appraisers alike, but while proving intentional discrimination is difficult in court, human interactions sometimes include racially coded comments that can be used as evidence. “When you’re dealing with these big models, these algorithms, it just becomes a lot harder,” he said.
Soni Gupta, Associate Vice President of Programs at the Boston Foundation, concluded the event. She urged the audience to educate others about their rights and call their senators. Gupta’s closing message was to “stay tuned, stay interested, and stay committed.”