The MARKET VALUE ANALYSIS
A Tool to Help Communities Make the Most
Of Their Economic and Redevelopment Efforts
Across Jacksonville, good people are working hard to improve our community. From the Mayor’s office and City Council to nonprofit community organizations and strong, smart
community stakeholders, people are testing strategies to help
downtown blossom, to reduce blight, to make better use of
vacant properties, to improve neighborhoods and enhance the
overall economic vitality of greater Jacksonville.
How Baltimore Uses the MVA
Baltimore has used its MVA to underpin its Vacants to Values
initiative (www.vacantstovalue.org). By strategically targeting
code enforcement strategies based on neighborhood type,
that city has rehabilitated 1,500 properties, filed 1,100 receivership cases, demolished more than 100
properties and received $90 million in
We all know that resources are limited and the challenges
are great. People often grow frustrated when programs and
investments don’t make a lasting impact or when varying
groups seem to operate at cross purposes. It can be hard to
align efforts and even harder to maximize impact.
To improve effectiveness, many communities have used the
Market Value Analysis, a tool that can help government and
private investors achieve greater results from investments.
What Is an MVA?
A Market Value Analysis (MVA) is a tool designed to help
private entities and government better understand the market
dynamics of their communities and, therefore, make better
decisions about resource allocation, priorities for service delivery and development strategies. By examining the entire market, the analysis helps the public and private sectors better
support sustainable growth in strong market segments and
craft effective intervention strategies in weak market segments.
private investment. Jacksonville, with
more than 10,000 vacant and abandoned
properties, may have much to learn from
Baltimore.
owner occupancy rates, uses of commercial land, subsidized
rental stock and population density.
The data then is analyzed at the Census Block level and results are clustered so that trends and patterns begin to
emerge. TRF staff personally visits the market to make sure
that what the data “says” is what the observer “sees” — making adjustments and corrections where necessary. The findings
also are “tested” against the knowledge of a local task force of
individuals who serve as the local “project manager” for the
MVA.
Once the pieces are validated, the results are mapped, so
users have a rich visual tool as well as underlying data to guide
future decisions.
The tool was developed by The Reinvestment Fund (TRF),
one of the strongest community development financial institutions in the nation. It has been used in TRF’s hometown of
Philadelphia, and TRF has conducted MVAs in a host of other
communities, including Baltimore, New Orleans, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Camden, New Jersey.
How Does an MVA Work?
Each MVA uses local data. The process begins with gathering multiple local data sets on such things as housing sale
prices, housing and land vacancy, mortgage foreclosures,
The MVA map of Milwaukee 2010-2011 is typical of the type of visual
tools that emerge from the MVA process.
Values Surrounding the MVA
Jacksonville’s MVA
Underlying the MVA is the perspective that all parts of a
city matter — weak neighborhoods, strong neighborhoods
and neighborhoods in between — and all are “customers” of
the city’s programs, resources and services. Moreover, public
resources are scarce and cannot be singularly relied upon.
Thus, locating and building on local strength is fundamental.
Thanks to the support of a group of local investors, TRF will
conduct a Market Value Analysis of Duval County in late 2014early 2015.
Scarce public resources should be used to prepare a market
for an infusion of private capital; public resources should be
invested in a way that leverages private capital. To do this
well, decisions to invest and/or deploy government dollars or
programs should be based on objectively gathered data and
sound quantitative and qualitative analysis — what is known
as “evidence-based decision-making.”
These values, along with the high quality of the research
and data, have earned TRF and the MVA support from a diverse set of institutions. The Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System have shared the MVA approach widely and
TRF has worked directly with Federal Reserve Banks in Richmond, Boston, St. Louis and Cleveland. In addition, TRF has
worked in partnership with municipalities, private foundations
and community organizations to develop and support local
MVAs.
The Tool, Not the Solution
As a tool, the MVA is valuable only to the extent that it is
used.
Thus it is important that information about the MVA — and
access to the results once it is completed — are widely shared
and easily accessible.
To assist that, the MVA process deliberately involves repre-
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is serving as the local contact
for The Reinvestment Fund during the course of
the Market Value Analysis.
To learn more, or inquire about the project, contact:
Mark Constantine
Senior Vice President
Jessie Ball duPont Fund
One Independent Drive
Suite 1400
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904-353-0890
mconstantine@dupontfund.org
In September 2014, representatives of TRF will visit Jacksonville for a series of meetings to explain the MVA and outline the research process. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Jacksonville office will convene local bankers and nonbank investors as well as for profit and nonprofit developers,
and the Jessie Ball duPont Fund will convene a group of community stakeholders.
Work on the MVA is scheduled to begin in October and,
assuming good access to data and no surprises in the research
phase, the draft MVA should be completed by spring 2015.
Consistent with TRF’s processes, a local task force will be
appointed to follow the research process and assist in vetting
the findings. The task force also will recommend strategies to
deploy the MVA upon its completion.
sentatives of government, the investment community, developers and planners and philanthropy. By participating on the
task force, individuals can actively encourage use of the MVA
as part of the evidence-based decision making that will guide
the city’s future.
To Learn More
The Reinvestment Fund — www.trfund.com
Putting Data to Work: Data-Driven Approaches to
Strengthening Neighborhoods
A publication of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 2011
http://www.federalreserve.gov/communitydev/files/datadriven-publication-20111212.pdf
Great Neighborhoods Great City: Strategies for the 2010s
Report by Paul C. Brophy for the Goldseker Foundation
http://www.goldsekerfoundation.org/
uploaded_files/0000/0023/great_cities_2012.pdf
Market Value Analysis: Understanding Where and How to
Invest Limited Resources
Bridges, published quarterly by the Community Affairs Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
http://www.trfund.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/
StLouisFRB.pdf