*Only one-third of Black millennials own their homes, in contrast to two-thirds of white Americans.
We previously cited an NPR article that attributed racism for the reason Black families struggle to own homes.
“Over the last 15 years, Black homeownership has declined more dramatically than for any other racial or ethnic group in the United States,” the NPR article states.
“In 2019, the Black homeownership rate was about as low as in the 1960s, when private race-based discrimination was legal,” the report adds.
Newsweek reports that the 2008 financial crisis, induced by the housing market, has made it more challenging for current millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, to obtain home loans.
“Millennials have consistently tracked behind their parents’ generation when it comes to homeownership because they’ve faced significant financial obstacles and an historic inventory shortage,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said in a statement.
Per Newsweek, “Meanwhile, for those between 43 and 58 years old, or Gen Xers, the situation is slightly better with 52 percent of Black Americans possessing a property compared to 80 percent of their white counterparts, and for boomers, the data breaks down 60 percent Black homeowners with 85 percent white property owners, according to real estate platform Redfin,” the outlet writes.
Studies indicate that Black Americans are more inclined to use their retirement savings as a down payment on a home compared to other demographic groups.
“Young Black Americans started out behind largely because they’re less likely to have property and money passed down from their parents or grandparents, who faced racial discrimination themselves,” Fairweather said. “They have stayed behind because they’re still facing discrimination and unfair economic circumstances.”
Fairweather expects “the racial homeownership gap to start narrowing for millennials and Gen Zers in the near future.”
“The Black unemployment rate is at an all-time low and the racial wage gap is shrinking, which should help more young Black Americans get their feet in the homeownership door,” Fairweather added.
READ MORE: BLM Co-founder Says Black Homeownership Helps Disrupt ‘White Supremacy’
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