By: Adam Eventov
A three-year study by Stuart Gabriel and Gary Painter,
professors at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estatecolor>, found the gap
in homeownership rates between minorities and whites is
virtually unchanged since the 1990 Census.
Homeownership among white households reached 75.5percent
nationwide last year, but black households were at 49.4 percent
and Latino households reached 47.7 percent, Gabriel said.
Painter said the majority of blacks choose to rent in Los
Angeles neighborhoods with established black populations.
Painter found that 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. Painter said a move to outlying
suburbs is a path to homeownership, but only a small percentage
of black families moved outside Los Angeles when their incomes
rose.