Crime and the Pride of Homeownership

A couple of years ago, my wife, two teenage daughters and I went to New York City for a few days of sightseeing. New York is a great city and we had a wonderful time visiting places like the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, several museums, and the Empire State Building. We saw Broadway shows and we visited the Blue Note, a famous jazz club from the 1950’s. We wandered around on the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan and Times Square.

There was a time, in the 1970’s and 80’s that the trip would not have been possible. New York was shabby, Times Square was seedy and the whole city was a dirty and dangerous place.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton are credited with cleaning up the city using a program dubbed the “broken windows theory”. The main notion of the broken windows theory is that small crimes can make way for larger crimes. If the “petty” criminals are often overlooked and given space to do what they want, then their level of criminality might escalate from petty crimes to more serious offenses. The mayor and police commissioner rolled out a “zero-tolerance” policy which lead to the rates of both petty and serious crime falling suddenly and significantly, and continuing to drop for the following ten years.

Today, the crime rate is way down, not just in New York City, but in Kitchener-Waterloo too. It has been decreasing steadily for more than a decade. Addressing petty crime and other changes in the way we police might have a lot to do with it.

At the same time, the overall rate of homeownership in Canada is up. It has been increasing since the 1970’s. In 1970, 60.3% of Canadians owned their own homes. In 2006 (the most recent census), 68.9% of Canadians owned their own homes. More notably, is that the rate of homeownership among 20 – 34 year olds is up from 36.1% in 1970 to 46% in 2006.

Is there a co-relationship between home ownership and crime? Is crime down because homeownership is up?

I think so.

By the time most people reach their mid to late 20’s, most everyone wants to settle down, get married and start family. With that, usually comes buying a first home. Homeownership contributes to a vibrant, dynamic, and healthy community. Homeownership is the foundation for stable and safe neighbourhoods.

If people see litter they are more likely to litter.

Similar to Mayor Giuliani’s broken window theory, the pride of homeownership has an intangible benefit that encourages homeowners to take care of their properties. Neighbourhoods with higher rates of homeownership are more stable, better maintained and most importantly safer.

Furthermore, neighbours influence each other. When one neighbour maintains his home by doing some landscaping or outside improvements, other neighbours follow suit. Homeowners, by nature, care about their homes and their neighbourhoods. Vibrant communities are formed through strong neighbourhoods.

As a real estate agent, I know the various neighbourhoods in Kitchener-Waterloo. There are some great neighbourhoods and there are some where I would dissuade a client from buying a home.

Neighbourhoods reveal themselves through their traffic patterns, crime rates, school rankings, ambiance, noise and smell, walkability, shops, parks, amenities, and general upkeep. These factors, of course are interrelated. You can learn a lot about neighbourhoods simply by spending some time in them. I advise my clients to do this and to take notice of the curb appeal of the houses, the speed of the traffic, the friendliness of the people, the noise and smell, whether the recycle boxes have been brought in a day after garbage day, if there are any shopping carts or abandoned furniture on the boulevard… It’s not rocket science. It’s common sense. I also advise my clients to check out the school rankings, the police incidence reports and in some cases the city planning department. Neighbourhoods are not equal. Choosing a good neighbourhood is more important than finding a great house.