-Source: Changing America, http://www.access.gpo.gov/eop/ca/charts/index.html

Home Ownership Rates

• Fewer than half of black non-Hispanic (46%) and Hispanic (43%) households owned their own homes in 1997, compared to nearly 3 of every 4 white non-Hispanic households (72%).
  

• The home ownership rates for each group have not changed greatly since 1983. For whites the rates dropped slightly from 69% in 1983 to 68% in 1985, before climbing slowly to 72% in 1997. For blacks they fell from about 46% in 1983 and 1984 to about 42%, before climbing to 44% in 1996 and 46% in 1997. This left the same percentage of black households (46%) owning homes in 1983 and 1997. Hispanic home ownership rates fluctuated between 39% and 42% between 1983 and 1996.
  

• Given these trends, the gap between black and white home ownership rates grew slightly: black rates were about 52% lower than white rates in 1983, but 55% lower in 1997. Hispanic home ownership rates were 68% lower than those for whites in 1983, and 65% lower in 1997.

Affordability

• About 42% of American families could not afford to purchase a modestly priced house in their area in 1993, the same as in 1991. That is, they had incomes too low to qualify for a 30-year conventional mortgage with a 5% down payment at the prevailing interest rate. A modestly priced house is defined as one whose value is below 75% of the owner-occupied homes in the same area. The racial differences in affordability are striking: 71% of black households could not afford such a house--compared with 38% of white households. (Note: The Census Bureau constructed 27 'areas' for studying affordable housing, defined by houses in the central cities, in the suburbs, and in non-metropolitan areas in each of the 9 census divisions--e.g., the South Atlantic and South Central divisions--of the country.)
  

• The ability to afford homes varies greatly by type of family and marital status. Over half of black married-couple families (51%) could not afford a modestly priced home in their area, compared to unrelated individuals (80%) and single-father households (78%). Modestly priced houses are beyond the reach of all but a few (12%) households maintained by black single mothers.
  

• Most white single mothers (70%) as well as most black single mothers (88%) could not afford modestly priced homes in their areas, and 57% of white single fathers and 78% of black single fathers also could not afford these homes. The proportion of white married-couple families (30%) who could not afford a moderately priced house was 20% higher than for comparable blacks, and the percentage for white unrelated individuals (64%) was 24% higher than for blacks.
  

• Among renters, the proportions of black (92%) and Hispanic (93%) married couples who could afford a modestly priced house were less than half the proportion for white married couples (19%). However, among married couples who already owned their homes, 70% of blacks, 63% of Hispanics, and 83% of whites could qualify to purchase a modestly priced house in the area.

References

• Callis, Robert R., and Linda B. Cavanaugh. Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Second Quarter 1999. United States Census Bureau, 1999. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ hvs/q299prss.html

• Council of Economic Advisers for the President's Initiative on Race. Changing America. Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being by Race and Hispanic Origin. September 1998. http://www.access.gpo.gov/eop/.html

• United States Census Bureau. Who Can Afford to Buy a House in 1993 ? (H121/97-1). Housing Affordability 1993. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ hsgaffrd/afford93/afford93.html

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