By Sharetta McLaughlin
- Black women homebuyer rates have increased by 5.6%, whereas Black men homeowner rates declined by 8%
- Between June 2020 and September 2021, Black female buyers surged 18.1%
Black women are less concerned with societal norms and are choosing to live their best lives by outpacing men in homeownership. Between June 2020 and September 2021, Black female buyers surged 18.1% compared to the previous year, versus an 11.5% increase in Black male buyers over the same horizon. They are acquiring higher levels of education and have found their independence through one of the greatest assets along the way to building generational wealth.
Why This Matters: The overall Black homeownership rate stands at 44%, only increasing 0.4% in the last 10 years. Although the price for a house increased during the pandemic, Black women recovered faster and were still buying homes at a higher rate than Black men. Black women homebuyer rates have increased by 5.6%, whereas Black men homeowner rates declined by 8%. Real estate and education experts hypothesize the difference in homeownership rates is due to education disparities between Black men and women.
While the U.S. homeownership rate increased to 65.5% in 2021, the rate among Black Americans lags significantly (44%), has only increased 0.4% in the last 10 years and is nearly 29 percentage points less than White Americans (72.7%), representing the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade.
Generally, the value of real estate tends to appreciate. The equity from a house can be used to pay for college or even make improvements on the home, which can increase the value further. These avenues help build more wealth and increase net worth.
Situational Awareness: It should also be noted that while Black women outpace Black men in homeownership, Black people with a college degree have lower homeownership than Whites without a high school diploma. Not to mention that 39% of Black homeowners reported discrimination throughout the appraisal process. Black people also experience higher mortgage rates when purchasing a home, are subjected to higher income requirements and spend a larger portion of their income on mortgage payments.
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