Concealed exchanges: relational work in racially segregated housing markets.

This article examines how real estate investors in Baltimore make purchasing decisions through relational processes and concealment strategies, focusing on interactions between professional and amateur investors in low- to middle-income neighborhoods. Professional investors build trust with newcomers by identifying shared goals and obstacles, often employing racialized narratives, while using legal concealment (e.g., limited liability companies), bundling of properties, and brokers to obscure ownership, property quality, and transaction details. These tactics facilitate the sale of undervalued or deteriorated properties, particularly in weaker markets and predominantly Black neighborhoods, potentially exacerbating urban inequality. The study draws on 74 investor interviews, supplemented by homeowner and renter perspectives, ethnographic observation, and property record analysis to highlight how investor networks and market structures reproduce power imbalances and racialized economic disparities in housing.