Homer Hoyt

Homer Hoyt (1895–1984) He was a land economist, a real estate appraiser, and a real estate consultant. In his long and accomplished life, he conducted path-breaking research on land economics, developed an influential approach to the analysis of neighborhoods and housing markets, refined local area economic analysis, and was a major figure in the development of suburban shopping centers in the decades after World War II. His sector model of land use remains one of his most well-known contributions to urban scholarship.

Hoyt attended the University of Kansas from which he graduated at the age of 18 with a Phi Beta Kappa key. He also earned a J.D. in 1918 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1933, both from the University of Chicago. Between 1918 and 1933, he taught economics, business law, and accounting at various colleges. His dissertation, One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago, led to numerous opportunities to work as a real estate consultant. In 1934, he joined the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as Principal Housing Economist and later taught as a visiting professor at MIT and Columbia University before opening a consulting firm in 1946. He maintained an active practice consulting on real estate development (with a specialization in suburban shopping malls) and economic analysis. Hoyt also invested in real estate, out of which came the money to establish the Homer Hoyt Institute.

Hoyt made significant contributions in five areas. First, he developed a novel approach to the historical analysis of land values that utilized primary data and mapping techniques.

Second, he applied this methodology during his time at the FHA to assessing the viability of neighborhoods and designing strategies for intervention. His approach combined multiple factors (e.g., condition of dwelling, transportation access, proportion of non-whites) using overlay mapping. The approach enabled the FHA to assess the risk a neighborhood posed for mortgage lenders. The methodology was used by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) to produce Residential Security Area maps for use by lenders. At the time, mixed race neighborhoods were considered unstable and the corresponding attitude towards lending came to be known as red-lining because of the color used on the maps to designate a high-risk neighborhood. Out of this work emerged the sector theory that replaced Ernest Burgess's concentric zone theory of urban morphology.

Third, Hoyt refined the method of economic base analysis that enabled municipal and state governments to assess potential population growth based on the mix of basic and non-basic employment within their economies. Fourth, Hoyt's ability to analyze profitable locations for shopping centers and to estimate their likely revenues made him the country's premier consultant on these matters. Lastly, Hoyt wrote frequently on urban development from a comparative perspective, producing some of the earliest writings in this vein.

Hoyt was not only a consultant but an active contributor to the profession of real estate appraising and to land economics and real estate analysis. The textbook, Principles of Real Estate co-authored with Arthur Weimer, went through seven editions and he published in a variety of professional and academic journals. His legacy continues with the Homer Hoyt Institute that supports real estate research, provides advanced studies for Weimer School fellows, and works to support careers in real estate.

Read more about Homer Hoyt:  The Homer Hoyt Institute, Selected Publications

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