All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.
42 U.S.C. § 1982
The right to acquire, hold, and convey property without regard to race was originally established by the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The provision was passed again as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1870, in the face of concerns that the Thirteenth Amendment was not a sufficient constitutional basis on which to base the 1866 act. In 1970, the Fourteenth Amendment was in place, and there was no question about that amendment having given Congress sufficient authority to pass the legislation.