Minority Home Loan Applicants Face Higher Costs

A federal government report on the home mortgage market in 2006 shows that minority loan applicants faced higher charges and interest rates than did white applicants. In its annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Report, the Federal Reserve found that in 2006, "American Indians, blacks, and Hispanic whites had higher denial rates than non-Hispanic whites; blacks had the highest rates; and Hispanic whites had rates between those for blacks and those for non-Hispanic whites. The pattern was less consistent for Asians, who had higher denial rates than non-Hispanic whites for home purchase, but lower rates for refinancings." Overall, the home loan denial rate for all home loan applicants increased to 29 percent in 2006 (up from 27 percent in 2005).

• 2006 HMDA Data from the Federal Reserve [PDF file]
• Los Angeles Times: Costs Higher for Minority Borrowers
• Washington Post: Mortgage Application Denial Rate Inches Up
• Housing Discrimination (FindLaw)
• Mortgages and the Law (FindLaw)