Rising house prices don’t just make it harder to become a homeowner – they also widen the racial wealth gap

Homeownership has long been a key path to financial security in the U.S. But as home prices soar to record highs, the benefits of rising housing wealth aren’t reaching everyone equally. In fact, the hot real estate market is a major cause of rising racial wealth inequality over the past four decades, according to research by Joe LaBriola of the University of Michigan.

His work shows that between 1984 and 2021, escalating home values widened the racial wealth gap by nearly $50,000, deepening long-standing disparities between white and Black households. He explains how the housing market has fueled inequality and why policies like zoning laws and mortgage tax deductions have exacerbated the problem. LaBriola also explores what can be done to create a more equitable path to homeownership.