Asian, Hispanic homeownership hits record highs

Despite rising mortgage rates, non-White Americans are owning more homes.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Feb. 21, 2024

FILE – Solar panels are installed on the roof of a home in Frankfort, Ky., Monday, July 17, 2023. Residential solar is gaining traction in the U.S., with about 4.5 million homes now with solar rooftops. The share of electric vehicles in the U.S. is also growing. Many people with EVs become interested in charging them on solar energy, if they own their own roofs. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Story at a glance

More people of color are owning homes in the United States, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

Homeownership between Hispanics and Asian Americans has risen the most over the last decade.

Asian Americans now have a homeownership rate of 63.3 percent.

Americans of color are owning more homes than in years past, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors.

The recently released report notes that homeownership among Hispanics and Asian Americans reached all-time highs in 2022.

Homeownership rates rose to 51.1 percent and 63.3 percent in that year, respectively, a 5.4 percentage point increase from 2012 numbers for Hispanics and a 6.1 percentage point increase for Asians.

White Americans’ homeownership rate has not changed since 2017 when it reached around 70 percent.

Homeownership among Black Americans has also risen but remains far lower than White, Hispanic and Asian rates at 44.1 percent, according to the report.

“Minority homeownership gained ground this year, with Asian and Hispanic homeownership hitting record highs,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “While the gains should be celebrated, the pathway into homeownership remains arduous for minority buyers.”

People of color still face significant barriers to homeownership in the United States compared to their white neighbors.

Some of those barriers are limited inventory and disparities in housing affordability between communities of color and white communities.

In Colorado, 41 percent of Black homeowners spend over 30 percent of their income on housing while white homeowners spend about 24 percent, according to the NAR.

In Hawaii and Iowa, there is a 30-percentage point difference in the number of cost-burdened white and Black homeowners, the organization noted in a release.