Homeownership, Race, and Socioeconomic Inequality: Trends in the Tenure Divide

There are indications that the mean difference in socioeconomic status between homeowners and renters has been increasing in recent decades, and that these trends vary by race and ethnicity. This paper examines the roles of changes in the distribution of household demographic characteristics, the effects of those characteristics on the probability of being a homeowner, and local housing market characteristics in producing this apparent growth in inequality. The paper focuses on racial/ethnic differences in these trends, and concludes with theoretical implications for homeownership as a salient dimension of social stratification.