NAR report: Snapshot of Race and Home Buying

Annie ChanUncategorized

The U.S. homeownership rate saw a rebound from 62.9% in Q2 of 2016 to 65.1% in Q4 of 2019. While the increase in the overall homeownership rate is encouraging, there continues to be a significant racial homeownership gap in America.

In February, the National Association of REALTORS ® released a Snapshot of Race & Home Buying in America report that illustrates racial disparities in homeownership. The data is from a 2018 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

National Statistics

According to NAR’s report:

“The ownership rate for non-Hispanic White Americans has been consistently above 71% from 2016 to 2019. In the same period, the homeownership rate for Black Americans has been 30 percentage points less – above 41%. For Hispanic Americans, the homeownership rate has held above 45%, and for Asian Americans, it has been above 53% over the same time period.”

State Statistics

Here are the homeownership rates in Washington according to the 2018 data collected by NAR.

  • African American: 34% homeownership rate
  • Hispanic or Latino: 44% homeownership rate
  • Asian: 62% homeownership rate
  • White: 66% homeownership rate

Note: These rates are statewide. Individual homeownership rates are different for each county.

Recent Home Buyer Profiles by Race

The 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers data were also included in the report.

Home buyer profiles varied between races. Some characteristics were similar – the desire to own a house was the most mentioned reason to purchase a home and detached single-family homes were the most popular type of home purchased.

Below are distinct buyer facts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methodology of 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Data

In July 2019, NAR mailed out a 125-question survey using a random sample weighted to be representative of sales on a geographic basis to 159,750 recent home buyers. The recent home buyers had to have purchased a primary residence home between July of 2018 and June of 2019. A total of 5,870 responses were received from primary residence buyers. After accounting for undeliverable questionnaires, the survey had an adjusted response rate of 3.7 percent.

Fair Housing Action Plan and Reaffirmation of Fair Housing Principles

Earlier this year, NAR announced the passage of a new Fair Housing Action Plan focused on Accountability, Culture, Change, and Training. It is designed to ensure that REALTORS® are doing everything possible to protect the rights of people of all backgrounds to purchase, own, and transfer ownership of property in America.

Resources

“Opening Doors to Housing” is a campaign by Seattle King County REALTORS® to make housing and opportunity tools available to our members as they serve the diverse communities in our area. For the next few weeks, our series on “Opening Doors to Housing” will be sharing resources, articles, best practices, talking points, and stories on advancing housing opportunities and promoting inclusiveness.

As a charter member of the National Association of REALTORS®, Seattle King County REALTORS® is proud to stand with our national organization as it launches a broader effort to promote awareness and progress on fair housing and equal opportunity for all.

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