This study is the Örst to identify the general relationship between housing
values and the spatial distribution of same-sex couples across the U.S. The
paper uses the 1990 and 2000 census 5% Public Use Microdata Samples and
introduces the gay index into the social-amenity-based hedonic housing models.
The results show strong correlation between the spatial concentration of samesex
couples and housing values; furthermore, housing values are higher in a city
where the proportion of same-sex couples was higher a decade ago, suggesting
that same-sex couples make better communities. However, more rigorous study
requires the restricted version of the U.S. census data.