The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) provides detailed information on the finances of U.S. families, including income, net worth, balance sheet components, credit use, and other financial outcomes. A previous analysis indicated that the primary residence continued to be the largest asset category on the balance sheets of households in 2019 and it accounted for about one quarter of all assets held by households. However, the median home value and homeownership rate varied among race and ethnicity groups.
According to the 2019 SCF, the homeownership rate for all groups increased to 64.9% in 2019. Figure 1 shows that the overall homeownership rate fell steadily to a low 63.7% in 2016 after reaching its highest level (69.1%) in 2004, and rose again in 2019. Among four race and ethnicity groups, white (non-Hispanic) has had the highest homeownership rates since 1989. In 2019, the homeownership rate among white (non-Hispanic) households was 73.7%. The homeownership rates among multiple race and Hispanic households bottomed out in 2013 and then rose steadily to 54.2% and 47.6% in 2019. During 1989 to 2004, homeownership rates for black households was higher than Hispanic; however, the black homeownership rates saw a downward trend since then. Though it marginally increased to 45% in 2019, black homeownership rate still the lowest among all race and ethnicity groups.
Unlike the modest gain in homeownership rate, the median value of primary residence rose remarkably between 2016 and 2019. The median value for all homeowners increased 14% to $225,000 in 2019. Though previous analysis showed the primary residence was the largest asset for black, Hispanic and other or multiple race group, the median value of primary residence differs by race and ethnicity. The median value of primary residence grew by double-digits in 2019 across all race and ethnicity groups except white (non-Hispanic) homeowners. Despite the solid growth, median values of primary residence for black and Hispanic homeowners were still 33% and 11% lower than the median value for all families in 2019.
