According to Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, the gap in African American and Caucasian homeownership among households aged 65 years and older reached 19.4% in 2018, a 30-year high. Additionally, the gap between Hispanic and Caucasian homeownership was 18.4%.
Redfin’s latest research on the gap between minority and majority populations in the US indicates that the number of homes affordable to African American households has fallen in every major metro, in some metros by 30% points or more, since 2012. Redfin specified less than one in ten homes for sale in 2018 was affordable to African Americans of all ages.
Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, reminded us that home prices have increased +70% since the housing crash in 2012. “African Americans, who were disproportionately affected by the housing crash in 2008, have found it much harder to get back into homeownership, especially as prices have skyrocketed out of budget. Since there continues to be a shortage of homes at affordable price points, the future doesn’t bode well for African Americans (and Hispanics) who aspire to be homeowners without a government effort for change.”
Here are Redfin’s Most and Least Affordable Metros for African Americans:
Most Affordable:
Memphis 48.7% affordable homes for Blacks
80.4% affordable homes for Whites
Atlanta 42.2% affordable homes for Blacks
69.3% affordable homes for Whites
San Antonio 41.1% affordable homes for Blacks
62.1% affordable homes for Whites
Columbus OH 40.8% affordable homes for Blacks
77.7% affordable homes for Whites
Louisville 40.1% affordable homes for Blacks
70.2% affordable homes for Whites
Least Affordable:
Portland OR 2.0% affordable homes for Blacks
34.2% affordable homes for Whites
Los Angeles 1.3% affordable homes for Blacks
12.2% affordable homes for Whites
San Diego 1.2% affordable homes for Blacks
12.8% affordable homes for Whites
San Francisco 0.4% affordable homes for Blacks
20.0% affordable homes for Whites
San Jose 0.3% affordable homes for Blacks
6.8% affordable homes for Whites
Also read: Housing Market Flashing Recession Signal, California Home Sales See Worst in 4 Years, NYC Prices Plunge While Rents Soar
