PRESS RELEASE

                                      

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July 19, 2012

Sarah Ludwig or Alexis Iwanisziw

212-680-5100

                                                                 

WHITE HOMEBUYERS TWICE AS LIKELY TO GET CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES

THAN BLACK AND LATINO HOMEBUYERS IN NYC

 

Study Shows Banks’ Persistent Failure to Provide Conventional

Mortgage Loans in NYC Communities of Color

 

Black and Latino mortgage borrowers in New York City are far less likely to obtain conventional mortgage loans than white New Yorkers, according to a report released today by NEDAP and six partner organizations across the U.S.

“Seeing the data, it seems evident that conventional mortgage lenders are engaged in redlining, steering borrowers in communities of color into a segregated mortgage market, in violation of fair housing laws,” said Alexis Iwanisziw, Senior Program Associate at NEDAP. 

The report documents mortgage lending disparities, based on the prevalence of loans backed by the U.S. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in predominantly non-white neighborhoods and made to borrowers of color.  The report includes a map showing the concentration of FHA and VA loans in NYC communities of color. 

Key findings for NYC include the following:

  • Approximately 85% of all homebuyers in predominantly white neighborhoods receive conventional mortgages, compared to about 52% of homebuyers in communities of color.
  • Homeowners refinancing their mortgages in neighborhoods of color are four times more likely to receive an FHA or VA loan than those living in predominantly white neighborhoods.
  • Two out of every three home-purchase mortgages made to black borrowers are FHA and VA loans, as are half of those made to Latino borrowers – compared to one in eight loans made to white borrowers.

The report, Paying More for the American Dream VI, examines the most recent home mortgage data available to the public, for NYC and six other metropolitan areas. NEDAP and its co-authors call on regulatory agencies to vigorously enforce fair lending laws and ensure access to affordable mortgage credit as new federal financial reforms are implemented.

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NEDAP produced the report in collaboration with California Reinvestment Coalition, Empire Justice Center, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Ohio Fair Lending Coalition, Reinvestment Partners, and Woodstock Institute. The reports are available at: www.nedap.org/resources/reports.html
NEDAP | 176 Grand Street, Suite 300 | New York, NY | 10013 | Telephone: (212) 680-5100 | Fax: (212) 680-5104