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80 I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / N I K I T R A B A I L E Y Five decades after the Fair Housing Act of 1968 became law, some say the playing field remains uneven when it comes to achieving the American dream of homeownership. What can be done to promote a more equitable housing industry? Every year since 1988, Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) has published an annual report entitled "e State of the Nation's Housing." Its 2018 edition, released on June 18, came during a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. e 2018 JCHS report's findings, however, signal that America's journey towards fair housing is still incomplete, even after reaching its golden anniversary. is year's JCHS report found several disheartening realities. Growing income inequality is driving the increase in cost- burdened households for renters and homeowners. e burgeoning impacts of the nation's still-growing student loan debt are delaying the creation of new households, hitting millennials the hardest. And even after five decades, a racial gap in homeownership persists, especially between black and white consumers. In fact, it's getting worse. While Hispanic and Asian-Americans experienced respective homeownership gains of 5.7 percent and 7.1 percent, according to the JSHS report, a 29 percent gap between whites and African-Americans remains. In 2017, 40.4 percent of African-American families were homeowners, while the measure for white families stands at 72.3 percent. ese findings confirm that 50 years' of fair housing initiatives have yet to achieve their goals. For too many people of color, fair housing in 2018 remains just as elusive as it was when President Lyndon Johnson signed the historic legislation in 1968. During that signing, President Johnson said, in part, "With this bill, the voice of justice speaks again. It proclaims that fair housing for all—all human beings who live in this country—is now a part of the American way of life." e Fair Housing Act provides protections against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status in the sale and rental of housing by banks, realtors, and insurers. Providing false or misleading information is also illegal under the Act. Even so, significant racial and ethnic disparities within homeownership remain. e Center for Investigative Reporting found earlier this year that the homeownership gap between blacks and whites is now wider than it was during the Jim Crow era. Another independent research report by the Economic Policy Institute found that the rate of black homeownership between 1968 and 2018 has remained virtually static—41.1 percent in 1968 compared to 41.2 percent in 2018.

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