More Americans own homes today, but the gap in homeownership between Black and white people is at its widest in 10 years.
The National Association of Realtors reported that 65.5 percent of Americans owned homes in 2021 versus 64.7 percent in 2011, but just 44 percent of the latest number of homeowners are Black, compared to white Americans who made up more than 72 percent.
"Unfortunately, the incredible affordability challenges of the last year have hit minority home buyers more than white buyers," said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, in a press release.
At the same time, Black Americans who were able to purchase homes, spent more of their income on acquiring them than any other racial group, and 30 percent of them reported the cost being burdensome.
"Even among successful home buyers, Black Americans have lower household incomes, which narrows the available pool of inventory they may be able to afford and makes their journey to homeownership even more difficult in this limited housing inventory environment," Lautz added.
The report also showed that Black and Hispanic consumers faced more scrutiny from banks, with prospective Black homebuyers having the highest denial rates for both new purchases and refinancing options.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
