A new report from the National Association of Realtors has examined Census data regarding American homeownership from 2012 to 2022 and found the rate of Black Americans who own a home has barely increased over the past 10 years.
From 2012 to 2022, home ownership grew significantly, with more Americans owning a home now than ever before. Over this decade, White homeownership grew from 69.2 percent to 72.3 percent, Asian homeownership grew from 57.2 percent to 63.4 percent, and Hispanic homeownership grew from 45.7 percent to 51.1 percent. However, the rate of homeownership among Black Americans saw a much smaller increase from 42.5 percent in 2012 to 44.1 percent in 2022. Additionally, the gap between White and Black homeowners is greater now than it was in 2012, with a difference of 27 percentage points in 2012 versus 28 percentage points in 2022. The states with the largest disparities between White and Black homeownership were North Dakota and Wyoming. In North Dakota, 69 percent of White adults are homeowners, compared to only 19 percent of Black adults. The gap in homeownership is worse in Wyoming with rates of 74 percent for White adults versus 19 percent for Black adults.
The researchers found patterns that provide insight as to why these racial disparities exist among American homeownership. On average, Black people spend a larger percentage of their income on housing compared to White people. In Colorado, 40 percent of Black people spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs compared to 24 percent of White people. Black people are also more likely than White people to be denied from a mortgage application, and they are more likely to receive higher interests rates. Additionally, many Black Americans are concerned with the effect of racism on their home buying process, with 39 percent of Black Americans reporting they steer away from specific neighborhoods and almost half reporting they have experienced racial discrimination in their real estate transactions.
