From 2001 to 2005 the American housing market witnessed rising housing prices and home ownership rates. This "housing boom" led to increases in home equity, which constitutes a large share of net worth for most families. This paper examines the degree to which the overall increase in housing prices and in home ownership rates affected the wealth accumulation of whites and various minority groups. Using data from the American Housing Survey of 2001 and 2005, I find that the gap in housing values between whites and two minority groups, Blacks and Hispanics, widens. Regarding home equity, the distance between white and Black homeowners is amplified between 2001 and 2005, but the advantage of white owners over Hispanic owners disappears once other factors are held constant. Asians benefit dramatically from the housing boom, their home equity surpasses that of whites after other variables are controlled. The 5-percent 2000 PUMS data are used to examine internal differences in attainment of home ownership among Asians and Hispanics. In comparison to Puerto Ricans, Hispanics of Mexican or Cuban origin are able to achieve home ownership while possessing relatively low socioeconomic attainments. Vietnamese likelihood of home ownership corresponds to family needs more weakly (e.g. the number of young children at home) than is the case for other Asians. By contrast, income and English proficiency exert stronger effects on the odds of Vietnamese home ownership than is the case for other Asians. The findings yield partial support for both ethnic stratification and assimilation theoretical accounts of the generation of racial and ethnic differences in wealth accumulation achieved through home ownership.
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