The Federal Reserve Board eagle logo links to home page
Finance and Economics Discussion Series
The Finance and Economics Discussion Series logo links to FEDS home page Have the Doors Opened Wider? Trends in Homeownership by Race and Income
Raphael W. Bostic and Brian J. Surette
2000-31


Abstract: Homeownership among U.S. families increased notably in recent years, from 63.9% in 1989 to 66.2% in 1998. This paper examines this trend and the factors contributing to it. We find that (1) homeownership has risen for all racial, ethnic, and income groups, (2) the differences in homeownership between minority and non-minority families and between middle- income and lower-income families declined significantly, and (3) changes in family-related characteristics explain homeownership trends among only the top two income quintiles. Among the lower two income quintiles, family-related characteristics explain almost none of the increase in homeownership. This pattern of results suggests that changes in mortgage and housing markets and changes in the regulations that govern those markets, such as CRA and HMDA, account for the increase in homeownership among lower-income families.

Keywords: Homeownership, community reinvestment act, CRA, home mortgage disclosure act, HMDA, credit scoring

Full paper (101 KB PDF) | Full paper (1048 KB Postscript)


Home | FEDS | List of 2000 FEDS papers
Accessibility
To comment on this site, please fill out our feedback form.
Last update: June 22, 2000