0:00
when we think of the American dream home
0:03
ownership is likely at the top of the
0:04
list and that's for a good reason not
0:07
only is home ownership a symbol of
0:09
stability and has also historically been
0:11
the number one way to build and pass on
0:13
wealth from one generation to another
0:15
black homeownership rate in America is
0:17
the lowest among all racial groups
0:19
what's even more shocking is that the
0:22
gap between black and white
0:23
homeownership has remained the same or
0:25
even gotten worse in some areas over the
0:37
according to data from the National
0:39
Association of Realtors there is a 30
0:41
point gap between white and black
0:43
homeownership rates Across America about
0:46
75 percent of white families own their
0:48
homes compared to around 46 percent of
0:50
black families it's not very difficult
0:52
to understand why this Gap in home
0:54
ownership exists in the first place but
0:57
why has it persisted or even gotten
0:59
worse after the Fair Housing Act of
1:01
1968. the Fair Housing Act of 1968 is
1:05
the landmark federal law in the United
1:07
States that prohibits discrimination in
1:10
the sale rental and financing of housing
1:13
based on race color national origin
1:15
religion sex familiar status and
1:18
disability the Act was signed into law
1:20
by President Lyndon B Johnson on April
1:22
11 1968. just a week after the
1:25
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr
1:28
according to research by the urban
1:30
Institute here are the three biggest
1:32
factors contributing to the
1:34
homeownership Gap first is the income
1:38
as of 2020 the median household income
1:40
of black households was 38 183 compared
1:44
to 61 363 for white households this
1:49
income gap has gotten wider over the
1:51
decades interestingly the data also
1:53
shows that the lower the income level is
1:55
for both racial groups the higher the
1:58
home ownership Gap is only 35 percent of
2:01
black households making between 25 and
2:03
50 000 on their homes while 64 percent
2:06
of white households with the same income
2:08
range own their homes there can be
2:11
several factors for this phenomenon
2:13
including parental financial assistance
2:15
for white households making home
2:18
in comparison the homeownership Gap is
2:21
the lowest at nine point among white and
2:24
black households with incomes of over
2:26
150 000. second is the difference in
2:32
merita has been in a decline among all
2:34
Americans over the last few decades but
2:36
the decline is more evident in the black
2:38
community in 2020 only 30 percent of
2:41
African Americans were married compared
2:43
to 52 percent of whites African
2:46
Americans are the least married of any
2:48
major racial group in America marital
2:50
status matters when it comes to
2:52
homeownership data shows that 60 of home
2:55
buyers are married couples compared to
2:57
less than 30 percent being single
2:59
researchers at the urban Institute
3:01
believe that if the marriage Gap was to
3:03
disappear between black and white
3:05
households the homeownership Gap would
3:07
decrease eight percentage points
3:09
and the number three factor is actually
3:13
more than 50 percent of white households
3:16
have credit scores above 700 compared to
3:19
only 21 percent of black households in
3:22
addition 33 percent of black households
3:24
have insufficient credit use levels to
3:26
even generate a credit score compared to
3:29
18 of white households this is part of
3:32
black households being under Bank often
3:34
with less access to credit
3:36
while these three factors are the
3:38
biggest reasons for The homeownership
3:40
Gap there is still a portion of the Gap
3:42
that's unexplained and can be attributed
3:44
to various other reasons such as
3:46
parental wealth information access and
3:49
policies that directly or indirectly
