Homeownership fails as a wealth-building tool for Black Americans due to structural discrimination

Evidence

It’s not a lack of homeownership. While it’s true that Black Americans have the lowest homeownership rates in the nation, simply owning a home does not have the same asset value as it does for white Americans. Black Americans get higher mortgage rates even with equal credit worthiness, and homes in Black neighborhoods do not appreciate at the same rate as those in white areas, because housing prices are still driven by the racial makeup of communities. As the Duke University economist William Darity, Jr., the study’s lead author, points out, the ability to purchase a home in the first place is seldom a result of just the hard work and frugality of the buyer: “It’s actually parental and grandparental wealth that facilitates the acquisition of a home.” — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1376

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Housing policy biases who can form intentional communities toward privileged groups — Yael Arbell, The Circle of Commoning:…, 60; Black homeownership actually raised property values in Mozley Park — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 179; Housing-market discrimination makes purportedly free market choices illusory — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 317 (+2 more)