Black Women Still Face Hurdles in the Housing Market

More Black women are becoming homeowners, and that’s great news. Between October 2018 and January 2020, the share of Black women buying homes grew at an average annual rate of 7.3%, more than double the rate of Black men, according to data from Realtor.com.

Even so, there is still a lot of racial inequity in America’s housing market, and the journey to homeownership remains full of hurdles.

Barriers to Entry

Black women have more student loan debt than any other group. On average, Black women graduate with $37,558 in debt for an undergraduate degree, compared to $22,000 for women overall, and $18,880 for men. The divergence continues in the job market where Black women hold a disproportionate number of lower-wage jobs compared to other demographics. These factors make it much harder to save up to buy a home.

Black women have also been historically disadvantaged when it comes to mortgage access, and were more likely to have a subprime mortgage during the Great Recession. There has been progress since then, but the housing market remains far from equitable.

Single Women Drive the Trend

But one group in particular is seeing changes, and that’s single women. In 2022, single women comprised 27% of Black homebuyers, per the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In comparison, single women represented 24% of Asian homebuyers, 17% of White homebuyers, and 7% of Hispanic buyers.

This is a key stat, because it hasn’t always been like this. In fact, single Black women in particular were actually less likely to be homeowners in 2021 than in 2007, according to the National Women’s Law Center .

Equity in the housing market is crucial to creating a more equitable society, as homeownership is a pillar to creating and growing generational wealth.

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