The relationship between crime rates and urban residential property values has over time neglected models and an exploration of the relationship for times of a falling crime rate. The present study assesses the relationship with data on 57 Detroit area communities for the period 1980-1990, a time of decreasing criminal activity. The cross-sectional results of the present study, which matched crime rates of ecological units with housing values of the same ecological units, indicate that crime rates were negatively related to house values in both 1980 and 1990. An increase of 1,000 crimes per 100,000 was associated with a decrease in value of $9,000 per house. For a community of 10,000 homes, this amounts to $90,000,000 in property values. Further, in two of three models, indicators of change in crime were related to indicators of change in house prices. Even in times of declining crime rates, criminal activity tends to lower house values. References