Black Homeownership Declines as Overall Rate Rises
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Homeownership rates for White, Asian and Hispanic Americans reached all-time highs in 2020, but fell to 43% for Black families, according to one report.
While overall homeownership rose in 2020 to 65.5%, Black Americans continue to face substantial home-buying challenges, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.
Homeownership in the U.S. had its largest annual increase on record in 2020, up 1.3% from 2019. In fact, U.S. residents are more likely to own a home now than during any year following the Great Recession, the report says.
However, homeownership rates are not equal among buyers. Black Americans’ homeownership rate decreased by nearly 1% to 43.4% in 2020; in 2010, the Black homeownership rate was 44.2%.
By contrast, white (72.1%), Asian (61.7%) and Hispanic (51.1%) Americans reached new highs in homeownership in 2020, the report says, with Hispanic American homeownership reaching above 50% for the first time.
"Housing affordability and low inventory has made it even more challenging for all buyers to enter into homeownership, but even more so for Black Americans," said Jessica Lautz, NAR vice president of demographics and behavioral insights, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Black U.S. residents are spending a considerable amount of their income on rent, the report shows. About half of Black families spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. In addition, 28% of Black renters are “severely cost-burdened,” compared with 20% of white renters.
To help close the racial homeownership gap, NAR and other organizations—including the NAACP and the National Urban League—are working with the Black Homeownership Collaborative, whose seven-point plan aims to increase Black homeownership by 3 million by 2030, the report shows.
The collaborative's initiative focuses on helping potential and existing homeowners through:
- Homeownership counseling.
- Credit and lending.
- Homeownership sustainability.
- Housing production.
- Civil and consumer rights.
- Marketing and outreach.
- Down payment assistance.
"As the gap in homeownership rates for Black and White Americans has widened, it is important to understand the unique challenges that minority homebuyers face," Lautz said in the statement.
For more information from the NAR report click here.
Andre Claudio is an assistant editor at Route Fifty.
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