Black millennials have taken up the opportunity to purchase homes for themselves. The mortgage rates are at an all-time low which makes it a little bit easier for first-time home buyers.
What We Know:
- African American adults ages 26-39 have shown a spike in homeownership nationwide since the start of the pandemic. According to CNN, Black millennial homeowners, who are first-time buyers, are the majority buyers for the year 2020 as they have jumped ship from their apartments due to the all-time low mortgage rates. “Realtors and economists expect the trend of Black Millennials purchasing homes to continue in 2021 but say it doesn’t reflect all Black Americans – whose economic state worsened due to the pandemic and loss of jobs.”
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) analysis noted that 5 percent of Black people purchased homes during the first three months of 2020, increasing by one percent compared to 2019. Due to this growth, ownership for Black Americans increased by more than two points according to the United States Census Bureau. CNN Business reported in November that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the housing market to increase. Sales increased by nearly 21% in June after record sales hit an all-time low, according to the NAR.
- According to BlackMediaDaily, Jay Farmer, CEO of Rocket Mortgage and a 25-year veteran in the mortgage industry was surprised by the unexpected boom in home purchases at the time. “The home is not only the place we raise our families, but often where you’re educating your children and also working,” Farmer said. “The desire for homeownership is probably at one of the highest levels I’ve ever experienced.
- After previous millennials were out of high school, they weren’t buying homes and renting apartments as much as they are today due to the fact that they were in an economic recession. Today, many of them are interested in learning the real estate business for themselves.
- Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has taken so many African American lives, that didn’t stop the others from being apart of the surge for homes. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at NAR, told ABC News that despite the “awful” economic conditions, “a surprise” for economists has been that homeownership is surging among millennials overall, and of those buyers, Black millennials have been buying homes at higher rates and have disproportionately contributed to the surge in Black homeownership.
Something good has come out of 2020 and some things are looking on the bright side.
