Tax Delinquent Properties

The Tax Delinquent Properties indicator measures the proportion of properties that are tax delinquent in a neighborhood. Property taxes are an important source of revenue for local governments to fulfill public services, such as police and fire services. Property taxes also heavily fund public K-12 education—another pertinent domain that is included in the HCAT. A high density of tax delinquent properties is detrimental for the economic vitality in the neighborhoods. Research shows that homes that are within 500ft of a tax delinquent property sell for 1-2% less than homes that are not as proximate to delinquent properties. This may seem marginal in terms of percentages, but can amount to thousands of dollars in economic loss in absolute terms; thus, eroding personal and neighborhood wealth. Data for the Tax Delinquent indicator comes from the Alabama Department of Revenue.

Neighborhood Indicator Value Ranksort ascending
Brownsville Heights 42.0% 99
Fairmont 40.8% 98
Brummitt Heights 40.3% 97
Industrial Center 38.1% 96
Central Pratt 36.5% 95
West Brownville 34.8% 94
Wahouma 33.7% 93
Enon Ridge 32.8% 92
Airport Highlands 32.0% 91
Hooper City 31.3% 90
Evergreen 31.1% 89
Harriman Park 31.0% 88
Gate City 29.3% 87
Tarpley City 29.0% 86
Brown Springs 28.5% 85
Oak Ridge 28.4% 84
South Pratt 28.3% 82
Kingston 28.3% 82
East Birmingham 28.0% 81
North Titusville 27.8% 80
Garden Highlands 27.4% 79
Woodlawn 27.3% 78
Collegeville 26.8% 77
South Woodlawn 26.5% 76
Sandusky 26.4% 73
Wylam 26.4% 73
Inglenook 26.4% 73
Oak Ridge Park 26.3% 72
Druid Hills 24.6% 71
Penfield Park 23.9% 69
Powderly 23.9% 69
Ensley 23.8% 68
Roosevelt 23.5% 67
Tuxedo 23.4% 66
Smithfield 22.7% 64
Arlington - West End 22.7% 64
East Brownville 21.9% 63
North Birmingham 21.8% 62
Oakwood Place 21.1% 60
Fountain Heights 21.1% 60
Riley 21.0% 59
East Lake 20.8% 58
Zion City 20.7% 57
Fairview 20.6% 56
Maple Grove 20.3% 55
Jones Valley 20.0% 54
Hillman Park 19.8% 53
Grasselli Heights 19.6% 52
Rising - West Princeton 19.4% 51
East Thomas 19.1% 50
Central Park 18.8% 49
North Pratt 18.7% 48
Ensley Highlands 18.6% 47
Norwood 18.3% 46
Dolomite 18.2% 44
Germania Park 18.2% 44
Hillman 18.0% 43
Acipco-Finley 17.7% 41
Mason City 17.7% 41
Sherman Heights 17.4% 40
Graymont 16.8% 39
North East Lake 15.5% 38
Thomas 15.0% 37
South East Lake 13.7% 35
Bush Hills 13.7% 35
Pine Knoll Vista 13.1% 34
West End Manor 12.4% 33
East Avondale 11.7% 32
South Titusville 11.1% 31
College Hills 10.8% 29
Woodland Park 10.8% 29
Liberty Highlands 9.9% 28
Belview Heights 9.0% 27
Green Acres 8.1% 26
Bridlewood 7.0% 25
Apple Valley 6.4% 23
Roebuck 6.4% 23
Smithfield Estates 6.0% 22
North Avondale 4.9% 21
Roebuck Springs 4.3% 20
Oxmoor 3.6% 19
Killough Springs 3.0% 17
Spring Lake 3.0% 17
Huffman 2.9% 16
West Goldwire 2.7% 15
Crestwood North 2.5% 14
Echo Highlands 2.1% 13
Overton 2.0% 12
Glen Iris 1.7% 11
Southside 1.5% 10
Five Points South 1.2% 9
Central City 1.1% 8
Highland Park 0.7% 6
Redmont Park 0.7% 6
Crestwood South 0.6% 5
Forest Park 0.5% 4
Sun Valley 0.4% 2
Eastwood 0.4% 2
Crestline 0.1% 1

Key Citations:
1. Whitaker, Stephan and Thomas J. Fitzpatrick IV. 2013. “Deconstructing Distressed-Property Spillovers: The Effects of Vacant, Tax-Delinquent, and Foreclosed Properties in Housing Submarkets.” Journal of Housing Economics 22(2):79–91.