The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) released its 2021 State of Asia America report, and found that while Asian Americans in the U.S. have a household income of $93,759—35% higher than the national average—only 60.6% of Asian Americans are homeowners.
“The 2021 State of Asia America report showcases how the AAPI community has continued its movement across the country. But even with factual evidence of greater income than the general population, our homeownership rate remains surprisingly low,” said AREAA President Amy Kong, co-founder of Trust Real Estate in San Francisco.
“And 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,” added Kong. “The hope is the AAPI community will be resilient and continue to make a positive impact on the U.S. as the fastest growing racial or ethnic population.”
The struggle is in the wage gap in areas where “mortgage-ready” Asians live, according to AREAA:
– San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Calif.
Median House Value: $940,900
Median Asian Household Income: $130,111
– Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
Median House Value: $666,900
Median Asian Household Income: $90,305
– Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill., Ind., Wisc.
Median House Value: $253,800
Median Asian Household Income: $98,380
– Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn., Wisc.
Median House Value: $284,500
Median Asian Household Income: $91,135
– Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
Median House Value: $219,100
Median Asian Household Income: $92,579
– Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass., N.H.
Median House Value: $482,700
Median Asian Household Income: $108,281
– New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y., N.J., Pa.
Median House Value: $482,900
Median Asian Household Income: $100,240
– Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, D.C., Va., Md., W.V.
Median House Value: $446,300
Median Asian Household Income: $121,525
Additionally, the Asian American population was hit hard by COVID, particularly through job loss. Asian Americans lost “more jobs than ever” during the pandemic, hurting workers, families, restaurants and small businesses, according to the report.
“The impact of job losses and hate crimes are fueling AREAA’s continued work in advocating on behalf of the AAPI community,” Kong said. “We continue to showcase the importance of alternative credit needs as so many in the AAPI community have been culturally adverse to credit, but have good jobs and savings.”
Another hurdle is bias in housing; something that must be remedied not only through fair housing regulation, but also in how we conduct business and how systemic racism is addressed. According to the report, in the first quarter of 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development saw a 30% increase in complaints of housing discrimination, with approximately 10% of those complaints involving some aspect of connecting COVID-19 to the person’s ethnicity.
“We also are working hard on overcoming language barriers, especially when it comes to the paperwork involved in real estate transactions. But now we have to overcome even more,” added Kong. “It will be interesting to see how the added stressors impact on the AAPI homeownership rate which had seen a steady rise from 53.7% in the second quarter of 2016 to 61.4% four years later only to fall to 59.6% through the first quarter of 2021.”
To access the full report, click here.
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
