Secret #3 – For Black Home Ownership, “Affordable” Housing Policies Have Been Worse Than Jim Crow

The U.S. Black home ownership rate increased 19 percentage points in the 30 years from 1940 to 1970 (from 23% to 42%) which was mostly during Jim Crow, but in the 51 years from 1970 to 2021 it only increased 2 percentage points (from 42% to 44%). And the difference between the Black and White home ownership rates didn’t get any smaller from 1970 to 2021. Home ownership is still about 30 percentage points lower for Blacks.

It seems for home ownership, U.S. “affordable” housing policies have somehow been worse than Jim Crow.

The Urban Institute, founded by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 to support his housing policies like the infamous FHA Section 235 program, is known for always pushing for lower urban mortgage lending standards but, as you can see, those “affordable” mortgages have been a complete failure despite the non-profit’s best of intentions. 

Black home ownership increased a lot more during the Jim Crow era than during the Urban Institute’s “affordable” mortgage era. They think lowering lending standards will solve pretty much all home ownership problems.