More Americans own homes today, but the gap in homeownership between Black and white people is at its widest in 10 years.
The National Association of Realtors reported that 65.5 percent of Americans owned homes in 2021 versus 64.7 percent in 2011, but just 44 percent of the latest number of homeowners are Black, compared to white Americans who made up more than 72 percent.
"Unfortunately, the incredible affordability challenges of the last year have hit minority home buyers more than white buyers," said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, in a press release.
At the same time, Black Americans who were able to purchase homes, spent more of their income on acquiring them than any other racial group, and 30 percent of them reported the cost being burdensome.
"Even among successful home buyers, Black Americans have lower household incomes, which narrows the available pool of inventory they may be able to afford and makes their journey to homeownership even more difficult in this limited housing inventory environment," Lautz added.
The report also showed that Black and Hispanic consumers faced more scrutiny from banks, with prospective Black homebuyers having the highest denial rates for both new purchases and refinancing options.
WSJ reporter Ray Smith breaks down why more companies are offering ‘dry’ promotions – a responsibility or title bump with no pay raise – and the pros and cons of accepting them.
Apple says a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit accusing it of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones in the U.S. is “wrong on the facts and the law.”
As Reddit shares begin trading at the NYSE, ‘Einstein of Wall Street’ Peter Tuchman breaks down the social platform’s debut and what it means for the overall IPO market in 2024.
CEO and co-founder of Alix, Alexandra Mysoor, discusses why it’s so important for everyone, regardless of income, to both plan and settle their estates.
After the Fed forecast three cuts to come in 2024, Kevin D. Mahn, President and CIO at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management breaks down why the market looks strong, and he sees some reasons for concern in Reddit’s choice to IPO.
Federal Reserve officials signaled that they still expect to cut their key interest rate three times in 2024 despite signs that inflation was surprisingly high at the start of the year.