Since the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, which forbade discrimination based on in housing or mortgage loan applications based on race and other factors, the black home-ownership rate has risen, peaked, and fallen back to 1968 levels, according to Urban Institute research.
Just before the housing crisis, 50% of African-Americans owned homes. “From 2000 to 2015, that gain was more than erased as forces within and beyond the housing market aligned to reduce the black home-ownership rate to 41.2 percent,” the Urban Institute said.
In 2015, the black homeownership rate was nearly the same as it was in 1968, while the white home-ownership rate was about 64%.
Given that a family’s net worth is often tied to the value of their home, the Urban Institute identifies the decline in black homeownership as a major contributor to the existing wealth gap between black and white families.
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