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Race and the Housing Cycle: Differences in Home Equity Trends Among Long-Term Homeowners

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  • Jacob W. Faber
  • Ingrid Gould Ellen

Abstract

During the past decade, housing markets across the United States experienced dramatic upheaval. Housing prices rose rapidly throughout much of the country from 2000 until the start of 2007 and then fell sharply during the next 2 years. Many households lost substantial amounts of equity during this downturn; in aggregate, U.S. homeowners lost $7 trillion in equity from 2006 to 2009. Aggregate home equity holdings had fallen back to 2000 levels by early 2009. Whereas this intense volatility has been well documented, there remain unanswered questions about the variation in experiences across racial groups, particularly among those who purchased their homes before the boom and kept them through the collapse of the market. Did this housing market upheaval widen the already large racial and ethnic gaps in housing wealth? Using the American Housing Survey, we analyze differences in the changes in home equity experienced by homeowners of different races and ethnicities between 2003 and 2009. We focus on homeowners who remained in their homes over this period, and find that blacks and Hispanics gained less home equity than whites and were more likely to end the period underwater. Black--white gaps were driven in part by racial disparities in income and education and differences in types of homes purchased. Latino--white disparities were most dramatic during the market’s bust.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob W. Faber & Ingrid Gould Ellen, 2016. "Race and the Housing Cycle: Differences in Home Equity Trends Among Long-Term Homeowners," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 456-473, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:houspd:v:26:y:2016:i:3:p:456-473
    DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2015.1128959
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Olga Gorbachev & Brendan O'Flaherty & Rajiv Sethi, 2016. "An Ethnic Roller Coaster: Disparate Impacts of the Housing Boom and Bust," Working Papers 16-04, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    2. Neil Bhutta & Jane K. Dokko & Hui Shan, 2010. "The depth of negative equity and mortgage default decisions," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2010-35, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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    Cited by:

    1. Scott N. Markley & Taylor J. Hafley & Coleman A. Allums & Steven R. Holloway & Hee Cheol Chung, 2020. "The Limits of Homeownership: Racial Capitalism, Black Wealth, and the Appreciation Gap in Atlanta," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 310-328, March.
    2. Kishor, N. Kundan & Konkel, Rebecca & Yoon, Jangsu & Zhao, Tian, 2023. "Bridging the racial disparity in wealth creation in Milwaukee," MPRA Paper 117686, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Olga Gorbachev & Brendan O'Flaherty & Rajiv Sethi, 2016. "An Ethnic Roller Coaster: Disparate Impacts of the Housing Boom and Bust," Working Papers 16-04, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    4. Anthony Lepinteur & Giorgia Menta & Sofie R. Waltl, 2023. "Equal Price for Equal Place? Demand-Driven Racial Discrimination in the Housing Market," LISER Working Paper Series 2023-09, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    5. Jacob W. Faber & Peter M. Rich, 2018. "Financially Overextended: College Attendance as a Contributor to Foreclosures During the Great Recession," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(5), pages 1727-1748, October.
    6. Joshua S. Graff Zivin & Gregor Singer, 2022. "Disparities in Pollution Capitalization Rates: The Role of Direct and Systemic Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 30814, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    8. Chakrabarty, Durba & Osei, Michael J. & Winters, John V. & Zhao, Danyang, 2017. "Are Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Rates Gaining Ground in the US?," IZA Discussion Papers 10852, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Wong, Francis & Kermani, Amir, 2022. "Racial Disparities in Housing Returns," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264099, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Jacob Faber, 2021. "Contemporary echoes of segregationist policy: Spatial marking and the persistence of inequality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(5), pages 1067-1086, April.
    11. Gregory Sharp & Ellen Whitehead & Matthew Hall, 2020. "Tapped Out? Racial Disparities in Extrahousehold Kin Resources and the Loss of Homeownership," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1903-1928, October.

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