Census Data Show Minority-Ownership Gap Persists

Three-fourths of white households owned homes in 2005, compared with 46 percent of African-American households and 48 percent of Hispanic households.
The Associated Press: REALTOR® Magazine Online
Home ownership is at an all-time high in the United States, but racial gaps are still broad, according to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau data released today.

Three-fourths of white households owned homes in 2005, compared with 46 percent of African-American households and 48 percent of Hispanic households, the American Community Survey data show.

Experts point to home ownership as part of the answer to the persistent racial disparities in the United States.

Home ownership creates wealth, which enables families to live in good neighborhoods with good schools. It also helps families finance college, which leads to better-paying jobs, perpetuating the cycle, says Lance Freeman, assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University and author of There Goes the 'Hood.

Home ownership grew among white middle-class families after World War II when access to credit and government programs made buying houses affordable. African-American families were largely left out because of discrimination, and the effects are still being felt today, Freeman says.