Homes owned by Black and Brown families in Charlotte are valued, on average, 15.6% below the value of the city’s average home, according to a recent analysis.
Zillow, the real estate marketplace company, placed the average value of a home owned by a Black family in Charlotte at $218,607, versus $259,012 for the area’s average. Hispanic homeowners fare better, with an average home value of $235,254.
Meanwhile, the Zillow analysis found that homes owned by White families in Charlotte are worth roughly 4% more than the city’s average home.
The Zillow analysis looked at overall home values by race in 50 of the nation’s largest metro areas. Nationally, homes owned by Black and Hispanic households are worth 16.2% and 10.2% less, respectively, than the average U.S. home. Those owned by non-Hispanic White and Asian families have average values that are 2.9% and 3.7% higher than the average.
Zillow’s home value index estimates a typical U.S. home is valued at $262,604.
Despite the disparities among racial groups, the report also found that the gap is shrinking as home values return to levels seen in 2007, before the Great Recession began.
Why it matters: Homeownership remains the single-biggest component of household wealth in America. But research shows that homes in predominantly Black neighborhoods are valued at roughly half the price of homes in neighborhoods without Black residents, putting Black homeowners at a disadvantage when it comes to building equity and accumulating wealth.
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Zillow economist Treh Manhertz says it has taken nearly a decade for the home-value gap to return to levels prior to the Great Recession — when the gap between Black and White homeowners was roughly 15%.
“With Black and Brown communities and jobs hit disproportionately hard in the pandemic, there has been reason to worry another dip may be on the horizon that could slow or stop the progress,” Manhertz said in a statement. “However, this is not the case, as the same factors that widened the gap in the Great Recession are not surfacing this time.”
Manhertz points to low mortgage rates, extended forbearance programs and rising home prices as factors that are preventing the racial gap from widening this year.
Faith Triggs, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty – SouthPark, says the outlook for Black families will depend also on actions taken by President-elect Joe Biden’s administration to mitigate the pandemic’s effect on Black homeowners.
Triggs, a member of Charlotte Crown Black Real Estate Association, agrees that forbearance programs, which delay foreclosures for delinquent mortgage holders, have been helpful, but she’s also concerned that the programs may be holding back a later wave.
“It could be a tsunami of financial hardship [coming] for African American families because we are always hit harder first,” she said.
Worth noting: Realtor.com ranked Charlotte as having the No. 3 housing market in 2021.
See below for select cities from Zillow’s analysis. Our list is ranked in order of metro areas with the largest African American population, according to 2017 census estimates.
United States
Zillow Home Value Index: $262,604
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $219,931
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -16.2%
New York/Newark, NY/NJ
Zillow Home Value Index: $505,569
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $444,523
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -12.1%
Atlanta, GA
Zillow Home Value Index: $255,109
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $216,927
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -15%
Chicago, IL
Zillow Home Value Index: $255,532
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $159,962
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -37.4%
Washington, DC
Zillow Home Value Index: $459,656
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $430,736
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -6.3%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
Zillow Home Value Index: $312,574
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $258,932
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -17.2%
Philadelphia, PA
Zillow Home Value Index: $269,695
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $207,440
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -23.1%
Houston, TX
Zillow Home Value Index: $229,613
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $190,589
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -17%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Zillow Home Value Index: $271,831
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $221,932
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -18.4%
Detroit, MI
Zillow Home Value Index: $195,270
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $106,413
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -45.5%
Los Angeles, CA
Zillow Home Value Index: $726,379
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $587,679
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -19.1%
Baltimore, MD
Zillow Home Value Index: $311,464
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $269,153
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -13.6%
Memphis, TN
Zillow Home Value Index: $167,904
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $124,538
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -25.8%
Charlotte, NC
Zillow Home Value Index: $259,012
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $218,607
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -15.6%
Virginia Beach, VA
Zillow Home Value Index: $259,731
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $245,226
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -5.6%
St. Louis, MO
Zillow Home Value Index: $190,720
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $112,529
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -41%
New Orleans, LA
Zillow Home Value Index: $217,016
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $179,157
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -17.4%
Cleveland, OH
Zillow Home Value Index: $168,994
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $101,824
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -39.7%
Orlando, FL
Zillow Home Value Index: $268,806
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $242,226
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -9.9%
Boston, MA
Zillow Home Value Index: $525,223
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $443,914
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -15.5%
Richmond, VA
Zillow Home Value Index: $261,415
ZHVI for Black-Owned Homes: $234,525
Home Value Gap for Black-Owned Homes: -10.3%
Very tired of the race card being played constantly. Black neighborhoods are worth less because they are not taken care of as well, are not as safe and generally have poorly performing schools. Until the black populous works on their perception of themselves as a group, nothing will change.
Hi NoneYaBusiness! I’d suggest reading Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. Housing prices are still deeply affected by racial segregation that the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) intentionally split up counties. Black Americans weren’t able to get loans (it was in the FHA underwriting guidelines) and were intentionally forced into land areas worth less called LuLus (think areas like near trash dumps and things like that). Redlining was intentional! Racial issues aren’t a card, they’re part of the community we live in.
Great write , the path to greater wealth is default , housing reform is vitally important. Thanks Mrs.Louis