Wealth Accumulation of Black and White Men: The Case of Housing Equity

Abstract

This paper looks at racial differences in how male workers accumulate housing equity. Findings from a national sample suggest major differences favoring whites in the payoff to such characteristics as earnings, age, marital status, and area of current residence. Blacks and whites also differ in the form of the relationship between years of schooling and housing equity. When the analysis is confined to homeowners only, many of these racial differences remain. The findings provide evidence concerning racial inequity in the United States housing markets and thus allow inferences concerning discrimination in housing. The findings also dramatize racial differences in a key form of wealth accumulation as a complement to other reports of racial differences in socio-economic outcomes.