Black-white home affordability gap widens in California

Just 17 percent of Black or Latino households in California can afford to buy a home, half the rate among white or non-hispanic ones, a racial disparity that widened during the pandemic as housing prices surged.

Affordability dropped for white or non-hispanic households fell to 34 percent last year from 38 in 2020, according to the California Association of Realtors. It stood at 20 percent two years ago for Black or Latinos. For Californians as a whole, 26 percent earned the minimum needed to buy a home.

The median price for a single-family home is $786,750. That means a household needs to earn $144,400 a year, the study showed. The median income last year was $102,540 for whites, $116,060 for Asians, $71,120 for Hispanics or Latinos and $61,740 for Blacks.

“Promoting access to homeownership is one way to close the racial wealth gap and foster economic equity for all Californians,” said Otto Catrina, the association’s president, in a statement.

The Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey showed that 64 percent of whites owned a home, compared with 61 percent for Asians, 46 percent for Hispanics or Latinos and 37 percent for Blacks.

The Black-white affordability gap was widest in Sacramento and Solano Counties, followed by Alameda, San Francisco and San Diego Counties. For Hispanics or Latinos, it was highest in Orange, San Diego and Ventura Counties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills last year aimed at helping people from communities of color to buy homes. The laws include requiring implicit bias training for real estate professionals, addressing the supply and affordability challenges that hur people of color as well as appraisal bias.

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