An Ethnic Roller Coaster: Disparate Impacts of the Housing Boom and Bust

Wealth in the US rose and fell precipitously during the first decade of this century, with volatility in Hispanic wealth being especially extreme. We document and account for this disparity. During the boom, Hispanic wealth rose faster primarily because Hispanics lived in cities with surging home values; within cities they did no better than others. But during the bust, Hispanics did worse, even within cities. This pattern is linked to immigration status, and the virtual exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the mortgage market at the beginning of the recession is a key factor in accounting for differences in wealth trajectories.