Columbus' Black homeowners face major obstacles

The gap between Black and white homeowners in Columbus has grown over the past decade, Brianna Crane reports from Zillow data shared with Axios.

Why it matters: Homeownership remains the biggest driver of the broader wealth gap, per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development .

• Decades ago, discriminatory practices such as redlining exacerbated homeownership inequities in Central Ohio that are still evident today.

By the numbers: White residents' homeownership rate is nearly double Black residents' in Columbus.

• Nearly 33% of Black people own homes, a decrease of 1.4% since 2012 — compared with the nearly 69% of white people who own homes, an increase of 1.3%.

Zoom out: The gap between white and Black homeownership in 2019 in the U.S. was actually larger than in the '60s, before the Fair Housing Act, a Community Capital Management report notes.

What's more: The disparity is seen in property appraisals as well.

• The typical value of Columbus-area homes with Black owners is almost 21% less than homes with white owners.
• The value gap has notably widened over the past decade.

The big picture: Nationally, the typical value of U.S. homes with Black owners ($291,000) is 18% less than the typical value of homes with white owners ($354,000).

What they're saying: Black owners seeing their homes appraised for less than those of their white counterparts isn't new .

• The appraiser workforce is majority white, and it's often difficult to report appraisal discrimination, though new policies are aimed at addressing both of those hurdles.
• "It's no longer a myth or legend that this happens," HUD chief of staff Julienne Joseph tells Axios.

What's happening: In 2022, the Biden administration announced the Action Plan to Advance Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) task force to fight appraisal bias.

• In June 2023, PAVE announced requirements for financial institutions to adopt non-discrimination quality control standards and ensure appraisal algorithms are not racially biased.

Meanwhile, local initiatives are also working to address homeownership inequities, including a $1 million fund launched earlier this month to provide up to $15,000 grants for first-time buyers.

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