A new study conducted by the Asian Real Estate Association of America found a below average rate of home ownership among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide.
According to Realtor.com, just 60.6% of AAPIs own a home, citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
That’s less than the 65.6% nationwide average and the 73.8% home ownership rate of White Americans.
“The challenges we face grew substantially throughout the pandemic, including job losses as well as an immense increase in hate crimes and subsequent housing discrimination that are forcing so many to stay in their current communities rather than move to new and unfamiliar places,” said AREAA President Amy Kong.
TheMReport.com reports that in the fourth quarter of 2020, 46% of unemployed Asian workers had been out of work for more than six months compared to just 21% one year earlier. AAPI women especially experienced long term job loss with 44% experiencing long term unemployment.
AREAA also found 2 million AAPIs reported experiencing anti-Asian hate ranging from verbal harassment (68.1%), shunning (20.5%), physical assault (11.1%), being coughed at/spit at (7.2%), online trolling (6.8%), and workplace discrimination (4.5%).
It’s study analyzed the 22 metropolitan areas with the largest percentage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Only the Riverside, Calif. market, (71%), Washington, D.C. (69%), Miami (69%), Houston (69%) and Atlanta (67%) had home ownership rates for Asian Americans which exceeded the national average.
The lower home ownership rate comes despite the fact that Asian Americans, excluding Pacific Islanders, have a higher median income of $68, 703 than the national average.
However, Asian Americans are clustered in more expensive areas of the country.
“There’s the fear of moving to places that don’t have large Asian American communities because of the discrimination and the rise of anti-Asian sentiment,” says AREAA Executive Director Hope Atuel to Realtor.com. “We’ve heard of people who have turned down job offers because of the fear. Fear can paralyze people.”
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