Zillow: Hispanic Homeowners Narrow Home Value Gap to Smallest Margin on Record

(Illustration courtesy of Zillow)

Recent Zillow research shows Hispanic homeowners making strides in narrowing the home value gap with white homeowners over the past two years, regaining ground lost during the pandemic.

The gap is now the narrowest ever observed, Zillow reported.

Hispanic-owned homes are currently worth 11.9% less than homes owned by non-Hispanic white households, down from 12.1% last year and a recent high of 12.4% in December 2021, Zillow said. The gap was as wide as 18% in 2012, following the global financial crisis of 2007–2009, when many minority communities were hit especially hard, setting back progress by several years. The slow climb back continued steadily until interrupted in 2021, but the course has now been corrected.

“Homeownership stands as a cornerstone for building wealth, yet systemic barriers have unfairly hindered many people of color from acquiring homes valued comparably to those of their white counterparts,” Zillow Senior Economic Research Scientist Treh Manhertz said. “Efforts to improve access to down payment assistance, credit-building programs, zoning reforms, and affordable housing construction and preservation in desirable areas are key initiatives to help this progress continue.”

The report noted more of Hispanic homeowners‘ wealth is typically tied up in their primary residence, relative to homeowners of other races, “so home value fluctuations have an outsize effect on them.”

Zillow noted positive movement toward equity at the local level. More than two-thirds of the 100 largest metro areas saw the home value gap decrease for Hispanic homeowners over the past year. “For example, significant reductions were observed in several large Florida markets, including Miami, Orlando and Tampa,” the report said.