Fair Housing

Getting a Mortgage Was Easier Overall in 2015, But Remains More Challenging for Minorities

Newly released mortgage application, approval and denial data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act show that getting a mortgage continued to get somewhat easier in recent years, a boon to buyers otherwise concerned with fast-moving inventory and intense competition. But despite improvement overall, there remain stark differences in mortgage denial rates and the ease of getting a mortgage between whites and minorities.

Skylar Olsen • Nov 03 2016

What the Homeownership Rate Really Tells Us About U.S. Housing

A hard half-decade after the bottom of the housing bust, several fundamentals of the U.S. housing market point to a recovery that is nearly complete: Home values in many markets are near or even above pre-recession levels, demand for homes is high and sales are up. But one key piece is missing. The U.S. homeownership rate – at all-time highs just a decade ago – remains stuck today at a 50-year low.

Sarah Mikhitarian • Aug 09 2016

All Ages Welcome: Why Living Alone Isn’t Just for America’s Young and Old Anymore

After increasing steadily for decades, the share of Americans living alone has been essentially stable over the past five years or so, and has only recently begun to tick up again.

Aaron Terrazas • Jun 28 2016

Young and Old, America’s Wealthy Are Concentrated in America’s Capital

The nation’s highest concentration of young and wealthy residents can be found in fabulous… Arlington, Virginia.

• Mar 16 2016

The Evolving American Household: Growth in Multigenerational Living

A growing share of American households have three or more generations of the same family living under the same roof.

Aaron Terrazas • Mar 03 2016

Revisiting Mortgage Lending in Detroit: New Insights From HMDA

Detroit’s housing market is – slowly, seemingly perpetually – “getting there,” recovering in fits and starts and unevenly throughout the roughly 150-square-mile city that is home to more than 600,000 residents.

Aaron Terrazas • Nov 20 2015

Small Victories: Mortgage Denials for Blacks, Hispanics Less Frequent in 2014

Denial rates for primary mortgage applications were down across the board last year compared to 2013, particularly for black and Hispanic borrowers, according to the most recent data released under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

Skylar Olsen • Nov 04 2015

Using a Oaxaca Decomposition to Dissect the Relationships Between Wealth, Homeownership & Race

Cody Fuller • Oct 12 2015