【World Property Journal】2007 Foreclosure Crisis Still Negatively Impacting Black and Hispanic Communities

According to a new Zillow analysis and data, millions of homeowners across the country lost their homes in the 2007 to 2015 foreclosure crisis, missing out on the opportunity to regain and grow their net wealth as the housing market recovered. But in black and Hispanic communities the foreclosure crisis hit especially hard, and foreclosed homes in those areas have yet to fully recover.

When the housing market crashed, many homes lost a significant share of their value, especially among homes that were ultimately foreclosed. In Hispanic and black communities, foreclosed home values fell by more than 50 percent.

As the market recovered and home values rebounded, foreclosed homes saw strong appreciation - equity growth that the former owners couldn't access. Foreclosed homes in black and Hispanic communities have more than doubled in value since reaching their lowest point, though they remain 4.7 percent and 9.5 percent below their peaks.

Not only did the foreclosure crisis have a sharper impact on people's ability to gain wealth in black and Hispanic communities, it also had a broader reach into those areas. Nationally, 19.4 percent of all foreclosures between 2007 and 2015 were in Hispanic communities - but only 9.6 percent of homes are in those same areas. Similarly, 12.7 percent of foreclosures occurred in black communities, while 7.7 percent of all homes are in black communities.

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By Michael Gerrity | April 26, 2019 9:13 AM ET