According to a recent report from the Urban Institute, virtually all household growth in the next 20 years will consist primarily of people of color, while homeownership rates among people of color in this same time period are projected to remain the same as they are today.
The report measures the share of the population that is the head of a household.
The breakdown of household growth between now and 2040:
- Total households are expected to increase by 17.1
- Hispanic households are expected to increase by 8.9 million
- Black households are expected to increase by 3.3 million
- Households of Asian and other people of color are expected to increase by 4.9 million
By 2040, homeownership rates for people under 65 are projected to be:
- Slightly under 70% for white people
- About 35% for black people
- Close to 50% for Hispanic people
- Slightly over 50% for Asian people and other people of color
The Urban Institute summarizes that these findings are an indication that in order to decrease the enormous racial homeownership gap, concerted action needs to be taken to
- Improve and expand financial education and homeownership preparation and increase the visibility, access, and types of down payment assistance programs;
- Re-examine how we qualify borrowers for mortgages and revamp the process to more precisely assess creditworthiness; and
- Implement programs that sustain homeownership for borrowers with less wealth, especially people of color.
Much work needs to be done to ensure the gap in homeownership among People of Color doesn’t grow. MNR will continue to ideate and support housing policies that ensure fair and equal housing opportunities for all.
View the full report, The Future of Headship and Homeownership