A Connecticut housing organization has released a report that reveals a growing homeownership gap between Black and white Americans.
The Partnership for Strong Communities report shows close to 72% of white families own homes in the U.S., compared to 42% of Black families. This ownership gap has widened over the last 10 years.
Thalia Giraldo, the author of the report, said the programs designed to help people buy homes still make the process expensive.
“Wealthy people will be able to buy their homes actually at a cheaper price because they’re not paying any additional interests and additional fees, and lower income people, whenever they do have the assistance to purchase a home are paying for interest and paying for fees that make it more expensive so in essence its more expensive to be poor than be wealthy,” Giraldo said.
Giraldo said that can make homeownership burdensome for low-income families and people of color. The report includes recommendations for lawmakers to design flexible housing assistance programs that can make homes more affordable and help close racial gaps in homeownership.
Kiley Gosselin, executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, said the key to close the homeownership gap would be for lawmakers to create flexible homeownership programs and policies.
“But reduce or eliminate the fees associated with accessing some of these programs, also looking at reducing the limitations we place on some of the folks who access some of our homebuying programs, like how long they live in the house or placing long term income restrictions that can lead to less mobility,” she said.
