Less than 50 percent of Black households own their homes, compared with just over 75 percent of white households, according to a new report from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.
Vanessa Perry, associate dean for faculty and research and professor of marketing for the George Washington University School of Business, was the primary author for the report released Tuesday. The report analyzes the current state of Black homeownership, market opportunities for Black homebuyers and recommendations for public policy interventions to help alleviate housing disparities.
Amid the financial devastation from the coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionally impacts Black people, and calls for racial justice around the world, now is a critical time to analyze the systemic barriers to economic equality that Black people in America face, Dr. Perry said. Policy interventions like the CARES Act have established a number of protections for home owners, she said but at this time there is no way to tell how long those protections will last.
Dr. Perry spoke with GW Today about the state of Black homeownership and what policymakers can do to be prepared to address this issue before the end of the pandemic.
Q: What do we already knew about Black homeownership, and why are the rates so low?
A: So, the homeownership rate for the Black people is 47 percent. It actually went up 5 percentage points between 2019 and early 2020 thanks to the strong economy and low interest rate environment. Obviously, we're concerned about the pandemic's effect on homeownership going forward, but the homeownership rate now is approximately the same as it was in 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was passed. And so, if you go back over 52 years, most people would argue that there's been a lot of progress that Black Americans have made in terms of education and occupational opportunities. There's been many, many advances in the state of Black America over the last 52 years, but the homeownership rate is the same. You’ve got to wonder what that is about.