CHARLOTTE — Gabrielle Jones is settling into her brand-new home in Gastonia.
“Coming to Charlotte and seeing my friends starting to buy houses and joining Urban League, I was like, I want to be a part of that world,” Jones tells Channel 9′s Deneige Broom.
Not only has she joined that world, she’s part of the largest group of homeowners in the Black community.
According to the 2024 State of Black Housing report, women make up 38 percent of Black people applying for home loans. It was followed by men making up 33 percent, and 23 percent by men and women applying together.
“It does surprise me, because you talk about women being paid less than men, but then you have women depending on your circle and your network that are CEOs that are doing it big, that may be single, no children. So, they want to be homeowners,” Jones says.
Women and millennials are driving the Black ownership charge, according to the report, but there’s still a large gap along racial lines. In 2023, 74 percent of white families owned their homes compared to 45 percent of Black families.
The report sites historic disparities in lower loan approval rates, less access to generational wealth, and a lack of credit history for the gap.
And while incomes have increased for Black workers, the rate of buying homes hasn’t gone up the same way because home values have priced out first time buyers.
Jones hopes more people who look like her will start early with improving credit scores and researching non-predatory loan options. But it’s a big commitment she says you need to fully understand.
“If it does not make sense in your budget to buy a home and be responsible for cutting grass or plumbing, do not do it,” Jones says.
“Everyone might not live in Charlotte,” she adds. “You might live in Kannapolis, Matthews, Concord, or Davidson.”
Jones encourages aspiring homeowners to do market research and find out whether there are new up-and-coming areas. “Some things don’t require a real estate agent,” Jones says.
For more homebuying tips and details about local funding help that could be available for some, visit dreamkeypartners.org.
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