New Evidence on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Homeownership in the United States from 2001 to 2010

Keywords

Ethnic disparities, Puerto Ricans, Racial disparities, Homeownership, Housing, Recession

Abstract

Using 2001–2010 homeownership data for the United States we analyze changes in racial and ethnic disparities between whites and blacks, Asians, Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics. We employ Integrated Public Use Microdata (IPUMS) combined with local credit scores and house price to income ratios. Controlling for demographic, income, wealth, employment, and housing characteristics, we find no significant differences between whites and Asians, Mexicans, or Cubans. Conversely, blacks and Puerto Ricans remain substantially disadvantaged. We conduct further analysis for the 2001–2003, 2004–2007, and 2008–2010 periods of the housing boom and collapse. Blacks and Puerto Ricans experienced decreased disparities during the peak years of the boom. Puerto Rican parity with whites continued to improve during the crash while gains among blacks eroded. The results suggest the homeownership differences between whites, Asians, Mexicans, and Cubans are apparently explained by socioeconomic status while racial disparities among blacks and Puerto Ricans evolved but continue to persist.

Original Publication Citation

Kuebler, Meghan and Jacob S. Rugh. 2013. “New Evidence on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Homeownership.” Social Science Research 42(5):1357-1374. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.06.004

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2013-9

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5662

Publisher

Social Science Research

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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