Home Ownership Up but Minorities Lag

A report released at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Reno cites gaps between white and black home purchasing that could supply officials the grist for a wider dialogue. More than 4 million people have joined the ranks of homeowners in the last three years to lift the national home ownership rate to a record 65.7%, according to the study released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. But a wide disparity exists between white and minority home ownership. According to the report, 72% of whites own homes while the minority home ownership rate is just 46%. President Clinton’s proposed 1999 budget calls for $585 million for 103,000 new rental assistance vouchers, a higher Federal Housing Administration home mortgage loan limit and an increase for homeless grants.