Chris Birk: Are Conventional Mortgages Drying Up in Minority Communities?: Is mortgage redlining still plaguing communities of color?
A new report from seven housing and policy agencies suggests evidence of a two-tiered mortgage market in which borrowers and communities of color are increasingly cut off from prime conventional financing.
Origination data from seven cities in 2010 show that borrowers in diverse communities receive government-backed loans (FHA and VA) significantly more often than borrowers in predominantly white communities. Researchers analyzed Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data and compared lending statistics based on race, ethnicity and neighborhood composition.
Cities included in the study were Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City and Rochester, N.Y. The data were part of the sixth edition of the "Paying More for the American Dream" series produced by seven community housing agencies and advocacy groups spread across the country.
