Minority Homeownership

Where a minority family chooses to live heavily influences whether they will rent or own, according to the results of a study by USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate.color> The study analyzed 1990 census data for Los Angeles County, Washington, D.C., and Chicago and found that the vast majority of blacks choose to rent in city neighborhoods with established black populations rather than purchase homes in outlying areas such as San Bernardino or Riverside counties where property is more affordable. Gary Painter, one of the study's authorscolor>, said Riverside and San Bernardino counties have only recently begun attracting large numbers of black households. Only a small number of black families moved outside the city when their incomes rose, Painter said. In addition, the study showed black renters are concentrated in high crime areas, a deterrent to buying a home. In the Washington, D.C., area, black homeowners were most likely to live in Maryland's Prince George's County. In Chicago, the majority of black homeowners bought affordable properties in Gary, Ind., according to USC. The study's authors expressed concern over recent data from the fourth quarter of 2003, which shows the gap between homeownership for minorities and whites is virtually unchanged since the 1990 census. "White homeownership reached 75.5 percent nationwide last year, but black households were at 49.4 percent and Hispanic households reached 47.7 percent," co-author Stuart Gabriel saidcolor>