Behind the scenes at the Westminster Dog Show in New York
Champion dogs are being groomed and groomed for the biggest dog show of the year.
New analysis brings troubling new dimensions to housing market inequality.
In the United States, neighborhoods with high-quality public schools and other public amenities are primarily home to owner-occupiers, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a Feb. 2 note.
Analysts determined this by comparing county-level homeownership rates and public school quality, and measuring the difference between average local test scores and the national average.
We also found that the quality of local schools is linked to local housing prices. In other words, the higher the quality, the higher the cost.
“As a result, for many households, the unaffordability of homeownership is more than just a cost of living issue,” the analysts wrote. “It also means higher barriers to wealth building and more limited access to educational services, job opportunities in large and growing cities, and long-term social mobility.”
This comes on top of previous findings that homeowners have a staggering 40 times more equity than renters, according to a 2024 study, and only 39% of renters have positive cash flow.
Meanwhile, as of 2023, more than a quarter of all renters will spend more than half of their income on housing and utilities. Additionally, rental costs show no signs of slowing down, making it difficult to save up for a down payment and get out of the rental cycle.
Many households of color are disadvantaged.
Homeownership is unequal across American society. Three-quarters of white Americans own a home, compared to only 46% of black Americans, and black borrowers’ mortgage applications are denied more than twice as often as white borrowers.
Not everyone is meant to be a homeowner, but decades of evidence shows the deep link between ownership and household wealth, and how disparities in the housing market can continue to disadvantage many households of color.
Ultimately, Goldman analysts came to the same conclusion that many housing observers have shared for years: Local regulations are to blame for much of the housing shortage in desirable areas of the United States.
“In the short term, providing subsidies to encourage the construction of affordable housing and implementing policy programs that help lower financing costs for first-time homebuyers, especially low-income households, may also be viable policy options,” they write.
