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56 | M REPORT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Expanding Black Immigrant Homeownership Opportunities Looking at Black immigration and homeownership nationwide, a study from the Joint Center of Housing Studies revealed that in many states, immigrants make up high shares of all Black households. A study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies expands on efforts to close the historically large Black-white homeownership gap, as new data showed that many Black households are headed by im- migrants, particularly in the Northeast, Texas, and Florida. Commentary from Postdoctoral Fellow Sharon Cornelissen fur- ther details nationwide figures and methods of increasing Black immigrant homeownership op- portunities. In "Black Immigrant Homeownership: National Trends and the Case of Metro Boston," a new working paper JHCS co- authored with Raheem Hanifa, American Community Survey data was used to highlight the growing number of Black im- migrant households and Black im- migrant homeowners specifically. In the paper, it's also explored how these trends are playing out in greater Boston. Looking first at Black immigra- tion and homeownership across the nation, the paper shows how, in many states, immigrants make up high shares of all Black house- holds. Nationwide, one in eight Black households (12%, or two million households) is headed by someone who was born abroad. Immigrants Make up High Shares of Black Households in Some States Many of these Black immigrant households have become home- owners. The national homeown- ership rate of Black immigrants (42.1%) is similar to the rate of native-born Black households (41.7% but both rates represent a signifi- cant gap of around 30% below the white homeownership rate. At the same time, homeownership rates differ widely between Black im- migrant groups. Less than 10% of Black households headed by a per- son born in Somalia own homes, compared to 56% of those headed by a person born in Jamaica. JCHS highlighted the unequal extent to which different Black immigrant groups attain homeownership and identify possible explanations be- hind these differences, considering the impact of geographic location, as well as the role of country of origin, age structures, and immi- gration histories. The paper then zooms in on Black immigrant homeowner- ship in Massachusetts as a case study of a state where many Black households have immigrated. In Massachusetts, fully 46% of all Black households are headed by someone born in another country. Immigrants also make up high shares of Black households in other large states such as Florida (28%) and New York (36%). JCHS compared mobility trends at the municipal level both within and outside of the city of Boston, to show how the suburbs are playing an increasingly important role in Black immigrant home- ownership opportunities. Findings also show how immigrant groups are geographically concentrated in a small number of communities throughout eastern Massachusetts, with some suburban cities having specialized as "ethnoburbs" that house specific immigrant groups.