Redfin Report

The Pool of People Taking Out Mortgages In America Is Becoming Less White - Seite 2

The racial wage gap remains large, but has shrunk in recent years in part due to a tight labor market. When the labor market is tight, employers are often less selective and look for candidates outside of their networks, which provides opportunities for marginalized communities.

It’s worth noting that the unemployment rate in the Black population has ticked up in recent months.

America Is Becoming More Diverse

White people make up 59.5% of the U.S. population (as of 2022), down from 61.6% in 2018, 69.7% in 2000 and 84.1% in 1970. Meanwhile, people of color have taken up a growing share of the population, with Hispanic people seeing the biggest uptick. They represent 18.8% of the U.S. population, up from 18% in 2018, 12.6% in 2000 and 4.1% in 1970.

The Black share of the population is the exception, stagnating in comparison; at 12.2%, it's little changed from 12.4% in 2018 and 12.1% in 2000, but is up slightly from 11% in 1970.

The number of people in the U.S. who identify as white (a different metric than the share) recently declined for the first time since 1790.

“In addition to lower fertility and immigration, much of this loss is attributable to the continued aging of the white population. Fewer births and more deaths resulted in a natural decrease (more deaths than births) for the 2010s decade, even before the COVID-19 pandemic,” William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote in a 2021 report. “In addition, the rise of multiracial marriages has led to an increase in the number of young people who identify as mixed race rather than white alone. The new census results also show a substantial rise in the number of Americans that indicated belonging to two or more racial groups.”

A Rising Share of Hispanic, Black and Asian People Are of Prime Homebuying Age

More than one in five (21.1%) Hispanic people living in the U.S. are of prime homebuying age (25-34), up from 20.6% in 2018 and 16.5% in 2000. Meanwhile, 13.7% of Black U.S. residents are of prime homebuying age, up from 13.4% in 2018 and 12.6% in 2000. The share has also ticked up among Asian people, to 7% from 6.9% in 2018 and 4.9% in 2000.

But the opposite is true for white people, 54.4% of whom are of prime homebuying age. While that’s a higher share than any other group, it’s down from 56.6% in 2018 and 64.1% in 2000. Please note that the most recent year in this dataset is 2022.

The most common age among white people in the U.S. is 60—far beyond prime homebuying age. That’s roughly double the most common ages of Black and Asian people and five times higher than the most common age of Hispanic people.