By Bryan Greene
Only 44% of Black Americans own their home, compared to 73% of white Americans
This gap is, at least in part, a function of decades-old policies that segregated Americans based on race and national origin.
The U.S. homeownership rate has increased steadily over the past decade, to more than 65% in 2021. Sadly, this growth has not been equally distributed.
America’s Black homeownership rate has remained virtually flat, at 44%, compared to figures of roughly 73% for white Americans, 63% for Asian Americans, and 51% for Hispanic Americans. This racial gap has widened since the 2008 Great Recession.
The disparity has significant implications, given that homeownership is crucial to building wealth and financial security. We must bridge the gap. Doing so will take the best efforts of U.S. policymakers, real estate industry leaders, housing experts and the millions of people who contribute to making homeownership a reality for countless families across the country.
This gap is, at least in part, a function of decades-old policies that segregated Americans based on race and national origin. In the early 20th century, cities nationwide adopted racial zoning ordinances to keep Black homeowners out of white neighborhoods. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled those policies unconstitutional, cities continued to protect property values in white neighborhoods while putting factories and freeways in neighborhoods of color.
Meanwhile, beginning in the 1930s, the federal government drew up maps of American cities that designated predominantly non-white areas as too risky for mortgage lending. Known as “redlining,” this practice effectively barred most Black Americans (and others who lived in communities with Black residents) from receiving federally backed home loans. America’s mortgage industry adhered to these practices for decades.
Indeed, when White veterans returned home from World War II, they…
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