Despite the economic recovery, African Americans and Latinos continue to lack equal access to homeownership in Rochester and Monroe County, says a new report from the Empire Justice Center, “The River Runs Dry II: The Persistent Mortgage Drought in Rochester’s Communities of Color.”
An analysis of local lending practices from 2010 through 2013 showed that the number of home loans issued in Rochester and Monroe County recovered from their lowest point in 2011.
However, while the share of loans received by white borrowers consistently increased, the share received by African-American borrowers steadily declined. And the share of loans received by Latinos and Asians remained unchanged.
In 2013, African Americans received only 3.2 percent of the home loans issued in Rochester and Monroe County, less than in 2010 or 2011. Middle-income African-American applicants were, on average, denied home loans 2.5 times more often than middle-income white applicants, the report says, while upper-income African Americans were denied twice as often.
Denial rates for neighborhoods of color also increased, says Barbara Van Kerkhove, the main author of the Empire Justice report. She recommends more vigorous enforcement of federal fair housing laws, which prohibit lender practices such as redlining neighborhoods.
She also recommends the development of alternative credit-scoring models, as well as increased anti-racism training requirements for the lending and real estate professions.
The report notes that discriminatory policies, including some of the same housing and lending policies that exist in Rochester, existed in Ferguson and Baltimore for years before violence broke out.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2015.
Maybe they were denied home loans because they weren’t qualified? Perhaps “alternative credit-scoring models” and “anti-racism training requirements” aren’t what’s required? What really happened is that some lessons were learned during the housing crisis, i.e. don’t give loans to people who are unqualified. If a larger number of those are african-american, the answer isn’t to blame the real estate profession
Banks are in the business to make loans. Why would they deny a loan to a worthy customer? They wouldn’t. Please don’t take us back to what happened about 8 years ago when Andrew Cuomo was in charge of HUD. Remember, banks were FORCED to grant mortgages to those that didn’t qualify. All of the defaults caused the last financial crisis that we still haven’t recovered from.
I have the answer! Why didn’t I think of this sooner. Those who feel that there is a mortgage discrimination, those who believe that loans are not given to a person because they are not white, those who actually believe that economics has nothing to do with granting a loan, those who insist on giving people loans that simply cannot afford it,……well they can co-sign for the loan. They can guarantee that loan with their bank account. As far as I’m concerned this problem is solved. Anyone interested in guaranteeing a loan to a person making $25,000 buying a $500,000 home is Pittsford? I didn’t think so. (duh)
What? Housing and lending policies had nothing to do with the looting and rioting that happened in Ferguson or Baltimore.
“The report notes that discriminatory policies, including some of the same housing and lending policies that exist in Rochester, existed in Ferguson and Baltimore for years before violence broke out.”
Lets say that there is indeed discrimination when it comes to housing and lending (mortgage) policy,….it would be very easy to prove. It boils down to economics. Again, that means that if you can afford said mortgage, that it makes mathematical sense and you are denied, call attention to it. That is relatively easy to prove.
If, however you feel that stomping cars, smashing windows, burning buildings and that in your own community makes sense, if you feel that this will immediately open up a flow in dollars and cents for mortgages,…..you are not being realistic (put mildly) Those riots were instigated by individual with little to no knowledge regarding mortgage denial. I will bet if you took a survey of those that participated in the destruction, looting and burning, you would find that most, if not all, lacked even a high school diploma. I keep coming back to that education.
That said, do you really believe that those who rioted, burned and looted had full time jobs making enough to own a home? Do you really think that they were aware of this mortgage issue? Do you really think that those individuals were employed professionals? Do you really believe that all of those individuals were waiting for mortgage approval and were denied? Or did they destroy their own neighborhood because,… well they could without any “interference” from the police.
I will be the first one to stand up for those who are denied a mortgage because of racial discrimination. It’s simply not fair, period!!! I would certainly find a more convincing method than burning down the neighborhood. But you have to qualify, it has to make financial sense. And if it doesn’t make financial sense, get one of those individuals that doesn’t understand the economics but still has a huge bank account to co-sign for your loan.
I find this article annoying. It implies a lot without providing any specifics.
The article implies that, across the board,in Rochester and Monroe County these days, all people of Northern European ancestry get mortgages more easily than all people of African ancestry. (That’s what I assume you mean by the terms “white” and “black,” skin tone descriptors that can apply in a number of cultural groups.)
It would be more informational and less rabble-rousing to specify: if someone of Northern European ancestry and someone of African ancestry each are financially stable and have the means to afford a mortgage, will the person of African ancestry inevitably be denied? That would certainly be stupid and discriminatory, and somebody should find out in detail why it happens.
If the same two people are financially strapped and cannot realistically afford a mortgage, is it inevitable that the person of Northern European will be sucked in by misrepresentation and false promises about his/her ability to pursue the dream of home ownership, and the person of African ancestry will be denied that pernicious fantasy? In that case, the person of African ancestry should be extremely grateful, and someone should find out why mortage lenders are still trying to hoodwink anyone in that way.