Segregation Persists In Housing, Study Says
Racial segregation and discrimination in housing remain persistent problems in the United States, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance, an advocacy group. The alliance said yesterday that minority homeowners continue to be steered to minority-dominated neighborhoods where real estate does not appreciate as quickly as in majority white neighborhoods.</br></br>Housing discrimination complaints to state, federal and nonprofit agencies rose 8.6 percent in the past year, climbing to 27,319 in 2004 from 25,148 in 2003, according to the group.</br></br>"Some commentators say integration has failed," said Shanna L. Smith, president and chief executive of the Washington-based alliance. "I say integration has yet to happen."</br></br>Housing discrimination is also the focus of a spate of recent legislative initiatives concerning real estate lending practices that some say have hurt minority homeowners. Critics charge that while lenders once denied loans to minorities, they now reap large profits by pushing these borrowers into costly loans with high interest rates, prepayment penalties and big balloon payments, leaving people heavily burdened with debt. Bankers say that higher interest rates compensate for the risk of lending to people who have bad credit.</br></br>New mortgage lending figures released this week are expected to clarify whether there are discrepancies between the loan rates being offered to white and to minority home buyers. The federally required information is being released institution by institution, making comprehensive comparisons difficult until September, when federal regulators will release an annual aggregate report. The data will not, however, include credit score information, which many observers view as key in interpreting the statistics.