While many would-be homebuyers are struggling with the current market dynamics, one group is being hit harder than most.
The rapid rise in the cost of a home has made it more challenging for members of the LGBTQ+ community to buy a home, according to a report by CNBC. Typically, members of that community are first-time homebuyers, and having to pay higher home prices without getting a boost from the sale of an existing property is shutting them out of the market, the article said.
Historical data on home ownership rates by sexuality were not tracked by the Census Bureau, CNBC reported, but said that surveys from the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance suggests that home ownership for couples and singles in the community has been trending up since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
A 2021 Zillow report found that LGBT people accounted for 12% of homebuyers, up from 7% in 2019. CNBC reported that stats from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law said that 50% of LGBTQ adults and 64% of LGBTQ couples own their own homes. For non-LGBTQ groups, those numbers are 70% and 75%.
Ryan Weyandt, the CEO of the Alliance, told CNBC that President Biden’s executive order offering broader protection against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation has boosted confidence for buyers, but the current home-ownership gap “has put the community at a disadvantage.”
Location can also be a barrier to LGBTQ+ homebuyers, the article said, citing Zillow research that indicates that LGBTQ homeowners are more likely to live in urban areas than their cisgender peers, and homes in areas that explicitly offer anti-discrimination protects can be $127,000 more expensive.
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