Forty-three percent of blacks owned homes in 2017, according to an annual report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

In contrast, 72% of whites did, a gap that has mostly widened during the past three decades. The housing market is recovering nearly a decade after the financial crisis. But a recent increase in the national homeownership rate — the first in more than a decade — has done little to close the stark gap between black and white households. Blacks have also had smaller gains in homeownership since the recession compared with whites, Hispanics and Asians. The gap persists even as African-Americans have experienced other major financial gains since the downturn. The unemployment rate for black workers dropped to 5.9% in May 2018, hitting a record low. African-Americans' wages have risen as much as the average since 2008. But when it comes to homeownership, one of the pillars of building wealth, black households are worse off than they were 30 years ago. After finding steady jobs and rebuilding their credit after the recession, some African-Americans are having a hard time saving for a down payment. Black workers are more likely than other racial groups to see their paychecks, which are already smaller than those of the average white worker, eaten up by student loan payments and growing rental bills, housing experts say. And when they do feel ready to buy a home, people of color often face higher fees that make the loans unaffordable. Black and Latino borrowers were disproportionately hit by foreclosures in the financial crisis, studies show. About 8% of African-American and Latino homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure from 2007 to 2009, almost twice the rate of white homeowners, according to estimates from the Center for Responsible Lending. After the downturn, banks and other lenders clamped down on credit, added more consumer protections and raised the qualifications for mortgages. Some consumer groups say the higher lending standards resulted in an overcorrection that made it especially difficult for people of color, who may have lower credit scores and modest down payments, to break into the market.