Minority Homeownership Spiked During Pandemic Buying Boom

A pandemic-induced homebuying boom provided opportunities for minority households to make home purchases after decades of being sidelined into a high-priced rental market. Federal stimulus checks paired with rental assistance programs and student loan freezes created a more affordable pathway to homeownership for Black, Latino, and Asian buyers, especially as historically low interest rates made borrowing significantly cheaper, The Washington Post reports.

The share of Black Americans living in their own homes increased for the first time in 20 years in 2021, while Asian and Latino buyers also posted annual gains to narrow a long-standing racial gap that has historically pushed minority house hunters into a costly and burdensome rental market.

“Was I planning to buy? Not at all,” said Taria Faison, 45, a Baltimore podcaster who closed on a townhouse in fall 2021. “But rent kept going up and the cracks in our walls kept getting bigger. And finally we just said, ‘something has to change.’

Faison and her husband, Cory, a fire alarm technician, dipped into his 401(k) to cover the down payment on their $333,000 home. Their mortgage payments of $2,000 a month are a bit more than their rent, but Faison said she finds comfort in knowing that she’s building equity. “It’s what I want to be able to do for my children," she said. “This is how generational wealth starts."

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