Black Homeownership Hits All-Time Low

The rate of black homeownership in the U.S. hit an all-time low in the first quarter of this year, Realtor.com reports.

While Hispanic homeownership rate is on the rise, the black homeownership rate has fallen 8.6 percentage points since its peak in 2004, hitting an all-time low in the first quarter of this year, according to census data.

Analysts say black communities have struggled to recover financially since the housing crisis, which has kept homeownership out of reach. A decadeslong legacy of housing segregation has also made many would-be black buyers wary of returning to the market after losing their homes.

Homes in neighborhoods with a high concentration of white borrowers on average have seen their homes appreciate 3% from 2006 through 2017, according to the study. However, homes in neighborhoods with a concentration of black borrowers on average are worth 6% less than they were in 2006. High-income black borrowers have concentrated in neighborhoods where homes have lost 2% of their value, compared with white borrowers, who have concentrated in neighborhoods where homes have appreciated 5%.

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