Today, more Americans own homes, but the homeownership disparity between blacks and whites is at its widest point in the past decade.

The National Association of Realtors claimed that 65.5% of Americans owned homes in 2021, up from 64.75% in 2011. However, just 44.5% of the most recent homeowners are Black, compared to more than 72.5% of white Americans.

In a press statement, the NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, Jessica Lautz, said, “Unfortunately, the great affordability issues of the past year have impacted minority homebuyers more than white buyers.”

In addition, Black Americans who were able to acquire a home spent a greater proportion of their income on the purchase than any other racial group, and 30% of them said that the expense was burdensome.

“Even among successful homebuyers, Black Americans have lower household incomes, which reduces the inventory they may be able to afford and makes their path to homeownership even more challenging in current era of restricted housing inventory,” Lautz noted.

The survey also revealed that banks scrutinized Black and Hispanic clients more closely, with prospective Black homebuyers experiencing the highest denial rates for both new purchases and refinancing alternatives.