Leslie Berkman
According to study results released Wednesday by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estatecolor>, the gap is caused primarily by income differences among the races.
The study concluded that the gain in home ownership in the 1990s appears to have been driven primarily by demographic factors like income, age, household size and employment status rather than as a result of government and real estate industry initiatives.
But in the past 20 years, the primary reason for gap can be attributed to income differences, said Lusk Center Director Stuart Gabrielcolor>.
"To the extent minority groups increase their educational attainment levels and increase their income and wealth, they will begin to attain home ownership at rates that approach whites," Gabriel said.
Encouragement of broader home ownership among minorities is important, not only to improve the financial condition of individual families, but to revitalize neighborhoods by reducing crime and blight, Gabriel said.
A hopeful sign discovered in the research, Gabriel said, is that blacks and Hispanics say they are saving more to purchase a home. He said that indicates more minority families believe home ownership is possible for them.
The Lusk Center study found that between 1983 and 2001, the fraction of black and Hispanic renters saving to buy homes rose equal to or greater than that of white renters.
In 1983 only 6.8 percent of black renters and 8.5 percent of Hispanic renters were saving to buy a home, compared with 12.4 percent of white renters. By 2001 the portion of Hispanic renters saving to buy a home increased to about 22 percent, to 16 percent for black renters and 17 percent for white renters.
"The desire for home ownership is as strong for the Hispanic community as for any part of the population," said Gary Acosta, chairman of the San Diego-based National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.
Acosta disputed some of the Lusk Center study's findings, contending that credit problems and other issues besides family income play a larger role in discouraging home ownership among Hispanics.
He said many Hispanic families, especially recent immigrants, are intimidated by the home-buying process and have difficulty building a credit score. He said many Hispanic families also have an aversion to buying on credit, preferring to pay cash.