This boring graph may be the most important graph in Black Economics. Let me explain. Homeownership is the single best way in the United States of building wealth. Second is retirement savings. And both are subsidized by the the government. Homeownership is key to wealth building especially for Black people.
If you take a step back, Black home ownership, the value of Black housing stock maybe the best mesures of long term structural racism in society. That’s why many reparations scholars devote extra time to homeownership. Ta-Nehisi Coates spends half of his great article on reparations to housing. The Case for Reparations (Atlantic)
Home ownership is fundamental in US society. It really means access to economic power, job, good schools and safe neighborhoods. And wealth building. For most middle class families, seventy percent(70%) of their net wealth is their home.
If you look at the data you can see Black home ownership peaked right before the Great Recession (50%) and then dropped to 41% in 2019. Black home ownership has rebound to 45% in recent surveys.
Interestingly, all of the personal finance gurus advocate owning property. First, set-up an emergency fund and second buy property.
We could not agree more.
