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The home value gap between Hispanic homeowners and white homeowners still exists but the gap is narrowing.
According to a Zillow report, Hispanic-owned homes are currently worth 11.9 percent less than homes owned by non-Hispanic white households, down from 12.1 percent last year and a recent high of 12.4 percent in December 2021. The gap was as wide as 18 percent in 2012.
In Greater Boston, the gap in home values between Hispanic homeowners and white homeowners currently sits at 13.7 percent. This is a 1.79 percentage point decrease in the gap over the last five years and a 55 basis-point decrease year-over-year. Thee metro-wide typical home value rose 6.2 percent year-over-year in Zillow’s estimation.
“Homeownership stands as a cornerstone for building wealth, yet systemic barriers have unfairly hindered many people of color from acquiring homes valued comparably to those of their white counterparts,” Treh Manhertz, Zillow senior economic researcher, said in a statement. “Efforts to improve access to down payment assistance, credit-building programs, zoning reforms, and affordable housing construction and preservation in desirable areas are key initiatives to help this progress continue.”
The home value gap is not the only gap that exists across demographics. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston worked with the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University to do a study on homeownership rates across New England and the findings showed 70 percent of white households in the region own their home while only 48 percent of households of color did. A nationwide study by the Joint Center for Housing showed that in Massachusetts, while the rate for white households remained around 70 percent (69.4 percent), only 37 percent of households of color owned their homes.
The Hispanic-white homeownership gap is actually greater according to 2022 American Communities Survey data analyzed by the National Association of Realtors. While just over 30 percent of Hispanics households owned their home in Massachusetts, nearly 70 percent of white households owned their home.
The home value gap between Black households and their white counterparts remains the greatest. Even with a 1.67 percentage point narrowing of the gap over the last five years, the gap is currently at 17.7 percent. The gap remains wider compared to mid-2022 (17.2 percent).
Graphic by Bill Samatis | Special to Banker & Tradesman
