Poorer Americans suffered bigger blows than richer ones as the housing market fizzled during the Great Recession, causing wealth inequality to surge for the first time since the 1980s, a new report finds.

During the recession, tumbling values in the housing market “increased wealth inequality because houses are the main asset of less advantaged groups,” reported the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. Unlike the very rich, who held more of their wealth in stocks or businesses, poor and middle-class Americans banked more heavily on housing.

The growing gap in wealth is one of many signs of the widening divide between Americans of different races and means, according to the nonpartisan center. Though the rise in income inequality has already spurred protests and political debate in Washington, “wealth inequality” goes beyond income to include the value of assets such as homes.