The homeownerships rate gap between minorities and whites is virtually unchanged since the 1990 U.S. Census, according to a study by the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.color>
The National Association of Realtors funded the three-year study of minority homeownership, which was led by the center's Stuart Gabriel and Gary Painter.color>
"White homeownership reached 75.5 percent nationwide last year, but black households were at 49.4 percent and Hispanic households reached 47.7 percent," Gabriel said.
Pointing to 1990 data from Los Angeles County, Painter said that the vast majority of blacks choose to rent in Los Angeles city neighborhoods with established black populations.
"The more affordable single-family homes are in outlying areas such as San Bernardino and Riverside counties, but those areas have only recently begun to attract greater numbers of black households," he explained.
The research for Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., also showed that black renters are concentrated in segregated areas that have high crime rates, a significant deterrent to homeownership.