Black homeownership in America has never fully recovered.
In 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was signed into law, the Black homeownership rate stood at roughly 41 percent. More than five decades later, it has barely shifted. Today, it hovers around 44 percent, compared to nearly 74 percent for white households, according to U.S. Census data. The gap is persistent, and by most measures, deeply structural.
In Chicago, the disparity is even more pronounced. Black homeownership in the city sits closer to the mid-30 percent range, while white homeownership exceeds 70 percent, a divide shaped by decades of redlining, disinvestment, and uneven access to credit that continues to reverberate across neighborhoods.
Ashley Thomas III has spent decades working within that reality. As National President of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, his focus is direct: expanding access to homeownership and closing a gap that has proven resistant to both time and policy.
“I’m a housing advocate,” Thomas said. “Our mission is simple but urgent: building Black wealth through homeownership.”
The urgency is not abstract. For most American families, a home is the single largest asset they will ever own. It represents stability, leverage, and the ability to pass something tangible from one generation to the next. Without it, wealth building becomes significantly more difficult.
“This matters because homeownership is still one of the primary ways people in this country build wealth,” Thomas said. “If you’re not in the game, you’re already behind.”
That reality shows up clearly in the numbers. The median white household holds significantly more wealth than the median Black household, a disparity driven in large part by differences in home equity. While figures vary by dataset, the gap consistently reflects a compounding disadvantage: those who own homes build equity over time, while those who do not are left without that foundational asset.
For Thomas, the issue is not just access, but awareness.
“There’s a knowledge gap that we have to close alongside the wealth gap,” he said. “If people don’t understand the process, or they assume it’s out of reach, they won’t even try.”
That gap begins early. Research from the National Association of Realtors has shown that Black Americans are less likely to receive early financial guidance around homeownership, which can delay entry into the market or prevent it altogether. By the time many prospective buyers begin to consider purchasing a home, they are already navigating a system that feels both unfamiliar and inaccessible.
At the same time, the market itself has grown more difficult to enter. Home prices have risen sharply in recent years, while higher interest rates have made borrowing more expensive. For first-time buyers, especially those without family wealth to draw from, the barrier to entry has only increased.
“People still want to own homes,” Thomas said. “That hasn’t changed. What’s changed is how attainable it feels.”
That sense of distance is shaped by more than just market conditions. Structural barriers continue to play a significant role. Access to credit remains uneven. Appraisal gaps—where homes in predominantly Black neighborhoods are valued lower than comparable homes elsewhere—can limit both purchasing power and long-term equity growth. And for many families, the absence of generational wealth means there is no financial cushion to rely on for down payments or closing costs.
“Affordability is a major issue,” Thomas said. “But it’s layered. It’s credit, it’s valuation, it’s the fact that many families don’t have that generational support.”
Each of those factors reinforces the next, creating a cycle that is difficult to break without intervention.
That is where policy enters the conversation. Programs tied to the Federal Housing Administration, including efforts to modernize lending standards, are often positioned as tools to expand access. But Thomas is clear that policy alone is not enough—it has to evolve in step with the market.
“Policy shapes access,” he said. “If the policies don’t evolve, then access doesn’t expand. We can’t keep using systems that were built for a different housing market and expect them to solve today’s problems.”
For younger buyers, particularly millennials navigating high costs and economic uncertainty, the path forward requires both preparation and persistence.
“Start with understanding your credit. Understand your finances,” Thomas said. “And don’t count yourself out before you even try.”
There are programs designed to support first-time buyers, including down payment assistance and FHA-backed loans. But as Thomas emphasized, those tools only work if people are aware of them and willing to engage with the process.
“Homeownership is still possible,” he said. “But it requires intention.”
That word—intention—comes up repeatedly in conversations about closing the wealth gap. It reflects both individual action and systemic responsibility. Because while education and preparation matter, they exist within a broader framework that continues to shape outcomes.
For cities like Chicago, where housing disparities are visible block by block, the stakes are not theoretical. They are embedded in who owns, who rents, and who has the ability to stay rooted in their community over time.
Thomas does not frame the gap as inevitable. But he is clear about what it will take to close it.
“We can’t accept this gap as permanent,” he said. “It’s not. But it’s not going to fix itself either.”