The Share of Black Homeowners in Wards 7 and 8 is Dropping

• February 9th 2023

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

The share of Black homeowners and homebuyers in DC's wards 7 and 8 is dropping, according to a new analysis. 

The Urban Institute released research today that found that Black households represented 75% of homebuyers with mortgages east of the Anacostia River in 2021, down from 92% in 2007.  

"On average, 7.5 percent of homes in communities east of the Anacostia River sell each year," the Urban Institute report stated. "This means that the racial composition of homeowners overall is changing less quickly than that of new buyers. By 2017-21, 87 percent of homeowners east of the river described themselves as Black, down from 94 percent in 2005–09."

Home prices have gone up east of the Anacostia River like the rest of the city in recent years. The average home east of the river sold for $292,734 in 2019, excluding renovation costs, while the average renter in this area can only afford an estimated $185,000.

The Urban Institute report was released months after Mayor Bowser announced an ambitious new homeownership goal for the city's Black population. In October, the administration outlined a $10 million homeownership fund to be used to create 20,000 new Black homeowners by 2030.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_share_of_black_homeowners_in_wards_7_and_8_is_dropping/20603.