Initial Housing Choices Made by Low-Income and Minority Homebuyers

34 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2009

See all articles by Christopher E. Herbert

Christopher E. Herbert

Harvard University - Joint Center for Housing Studies

Eric S. Belsky

Harvard University

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

This article presents information on the initial housing choices that low-income and minority first-time homebuyers made. These characteristics are of interest because they influence the extent to which the longrun financial and social benefits of homeownership are realized. Of particular interest are the millions of low-income and minority households that bought their first home during the homeownership boom that began in the early 1990s. Much of the information presented in this article is derived from tabulations from the American Housing Surveys (AHSs) from 1991 through 2003, with some information on housing costs and mortgage choices updated from the 2005 AHS. The AHS, a national survey conducted in every odd-numbered year, is a rich source of information on characteristics of the U.S. housing stock and is one of the few sources of information on first-time homebuyers.

Keywords: HUD, Huduser, Cityscape

Suggested Citation

Herbert, Christopher E. and Belsky, Eric S., Initial Housing Choices Made by Low-Income and Minority Homebuyers (2008). Cityscape, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1341190

Christopher E. Herbert

Harvard University - Joint Center for Housing Studies ( email )

1033 Massachusetts Ave, 5th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Eric S. Belsky (Contact Author)

Harvard University ( email )

1875 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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