Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Minorities' mortgage rates higher

Blacks and Hispanics paid more in 2005, and rates rose overall, a Federal Reserve report found.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 9, 2006

WASHINGTON - Black and Hispanic homebuyers pay more for their mortgages than whites, according to a Federal Reserve report released Friday.

The Fed's analysis of 2005 home lending data found that 54.7 percent of black borrowers paid a higher-than-typical interest rate on home mortgages. That was up sharply from 32.4 percent in 2004.

For Hispanics, 46.1 percent paid more than typical for their mortgages last year - more than double the 20.3 percent reported in 2004.

By contrast, only 17.2 percent of whites typically paid higher interest on their home mortgages last year. However, that was up considerably from 2004's 8.7 percent.

For all borrowers, there was a "significant increase" in the incidents of higher-priced mortgages - 24.6 percent in 2005, compared with 11.5 percent in 2004.

A number of factors were cited for this overall increase. Mortgages rates in general were rising and rates for popular adjustable-rate mortgages, in particular, moved higher.

And some borrowers stretching to buy a home opted for creative financing, like higher-priced piggyback loans. The use of piggyback loans shot up more than 57 percent in 2005 from the prior year, the Fed said.

"Indeed, the increase in the number of higher-priced piggyback loans in 2005 accounted for more than half of the increase in the number of all higher-priced loans," the report said.

The report also said that black borrowers applying for mortgages were more likely to be turned down than Hispanics and whites.

The report doesn't provide interest rates charged to the different racial groups. It also doesn't include such information as the borrower's credit history, which is an important factor in pricing a home mortgage.

Given that, economists and other experts said one should be cautious about drawing any conclusions about discriminatory lending from the Fed information.

The Fed's report is based on information from 8,848 financial institutions, which covers about 80 percent of home lending nationwide.

The Fed is required by Congress to report annually on home-lending activity.

[Last modified September 9, 2006, 01:05:33]