HUD Study Details Discrimination Against Blacks and Other Minorities
Blacks shown fewer homes, less favored than whites.
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An Unequal Playing Field - Despite federal laws mandating that all Americans have equal access to the home of their choosing, a new report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) finds that well-qualified minorities remain at disadvantage compared to white homeseekers. BET.com takes a look at some of the report's more troubling conclusions. — Britt Middleton (Photo: REUTERS/Tim Shaffer)
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Methodology - In the study, researchers used paired testing, one individual white and the other Black, Latino or Asian, where the "testers" posed as equally qualified homeseekers looking for a home or apartment. More than 8,000 tests were conducted in a sample of 28 metropolitan areas, allowing researchers to observe "how often discrimination occurs across housing markets and what form it takes." (Photo: Ian Jeffery/Getty Images)
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The True Cost of Discrimination - Researchers found that while blatant forms of discrimination, such as refusing to meet with a minority homeseeker, have declined since 1977 (the year of the first national study), "the forms of discrimination that persist (providing information about fewer units) raise the costs of housing search for minorities and restrict their housing options." (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Less Access to Units - When contacting home providers, well-qualified African-Americans are told about 11.4 percent fewer homes and apartments and shown 4.2 percent fewer units than whites, the report states. Latinos are told about 12.5 percent fewer homes and show 7.5 percent fewer units than white homeseekers. (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Differing Circumstances - Researchers said there was "no question" that the housing circumstances of whites and minorities differ substantially as whites are "more likely to own their homes, to occupy better quality homes and apartments, and to live in safer, more opportunity-rich neighborhoods." (Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
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Differences in Debt and Assets - However, what remains to be seen is whether or how much these disparities result from current racial and ethnic discrimination in the housing market. This is because whites and minorities differ systematically in employment, income, assets and debt, according to the report. (Photo: Sharon Dominick/Getty Images)
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Housing Search - Black homebuyers who contact agents about recently advertised homes for sale learn about 17 percent fewer available homes than whites and are shown 17.7 percent fewer homes, researchers report. Asian homebuyers learn about 15.5 percent fewer available homes and are shown 18.8 percent fewer homes than equally qualified whites. (Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images)
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Neighborhood Make-Up - The majority of for-sale homes recommended and shown to "testers" of all races in the study were located in predominately white neighborhoods. However, on average, one tester is recommended and shown neighborhoods with a higher percentage of white residents than his or her partner. (Photo: Tony Tremblay/Getty Images)
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Racial Majorities Come Into Play - White home seekers are significantly more likely than Blacks or Asians to be shown neighborhoods with higher percentages of whites. Despite this, minorities are often shown “whiter” neighborhoods than their partners. "When they are, the neighborhoods they see are 14 to 15 percentage points higher in proportion of white residents than those shown to equally qualified whites," according to the report. (Photo: Blend Images/Getty Images)