The Urban Institute released a report last week with some interesting news for household and homeownership growth. The report showed homeownership rates are likely to fall in the next two decades, with the exception of the Hispanic homeownership rate which will rise to above 50% and plateau for most of the next decade. Every other ethnic demographic is expected to see percentage declines as the overall population continues to get older. While percentages will decline, the total number of homeowners will increase. The report says that “the net growth in the number of homeowners between 2020-2040 will come from people of color, especially Hispanics”. The UI estimates that from 2020-2040, there will be a net gain of 6.9 million homeowners. Hispanic homeowners will grow by 4.8 million, Black homeowners will increase by 1.2 million homeowners, other races (mostly Asian) will grow by 2.7 million homeowners, and the total number of non-Hispanic white homeowners will drop by 1.8 million. I encourage you to read the executive summary and full report here. There will be lots of job security in the housing industry for agents and corporations that hire and market intelligently to Hispanic consumers. I hate to say it, but I told you so!
The usual solutions will not solve the current housing affordability crisis. Any solution that does not begin and end with a sustainable plan to radically increase housing supply is just noise. The barriers to increasing housing supply are complex and require the crucial cooperation of both public and private sectors, and more education.
“Boomerang” was a different kind of film. It was a movie about friendship, loyalty, and romance set in NYC at a medium-sized Black-led company that sold beauty products. Boomerang had an all-black cast and a plot that had nothing to do with being Black. While that was unheard of at the time, Murphy was such a big star that it didn’t seem like a big deal.
Terms like “great, genius,” and “world-class” are overused, perhaps because they mean something different to everyone. Greatness is subjective. Some might say you must be great just to be employed in the film business or to play professional sports, but I don’t think Will Smith or LeBron James think that way. The concept of being great also requires context. You could be a great high school athlete but only an average college player.