Even with more Americans tackling systemic racism, including the Biden administration making racial equity a priority, the homeownership gap between Black and white Americans continues to grow, widening the racial wealth gap and other economic disparities. At all income levels, white households have a higher overall homeownership rate than Black households, and similar disparities exist when accounting for education. Black households that have a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree are less likely to own their own home than a white household that lacks a high school diploma. Structural barriers may limit the benefits of education for Black graduates, who bear higher debt burdens, which may also affect homeownership. Even though overtly racist lending practices have been made illegal, their legacies persist in housing, contributing to a growing modern-day disparity.

If left unaddressed, the Black homeownership rate will continue to fall for every age group younger than 85, according to Urban Institute projections. As homeownership is key to building wealth—particularly for Black families, for whom homeownership makes up a greater share of household wealth than it does for white families—this trend poses an economic risk for the nation and a disaster for the Black families unable to achieve homeownership and transfer wealth to their children.

To increase homeownership among Black households, strengthen the middle class, and grow the economy, leaders in government, industry, civil rights, academia, and economic empowerment sectors need to unify around a shared goal that can provide a guiding light for defining and measuring progress. As part of these goals, we demonstrate in this blog post how each incremental increase of 1 million Black homeowners reduces homeownership gaps when accounting for projected population changes between now and 2030.

Read the full article about narrowing the racial homeownership gap by Janneke Ratcliffe and Jung Hyun Choi at Urban Institute.