Following Different Paths

One of Instapundit’s stable of regular guest bloggers, Stephen Green quotes at some length from a story in The Wall Street Journal (behind paywall). The Journal reports:

The homeownership rate for Hispanics has increased more during the past several years than any race or ethnic group, including whites. The rate, which hit a 50-year low in 2015, has risen 3.3 percentage points since then, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The overall U.S. homeownership rate bottomed in the second quarter of 2016 and has grown 1.3 percentage points since then. For blacks, the homeownership rate has fallen to its lowest level on record in the first quarter of this year. This marks the first time in more than two decades that Hispanics and blacks, the two largest racial or ethnic minorities in the U.S., are no longer following the same path when it comes to owning homes.

Why is Hispanic home ownership up, while black home ownership is down? More research is needed; a ritualized conclusion of nearly every academic article that actually fits here.