Mortgage lending to African-Americans has declined since the last housing boom, a direct result of tightened underwriting standards that persist eight years after the meltdown, according to a new report, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Black borrowers accounted for a smaller share of mortgage originations in 2014, at 5 percent, than in 2004 when they were 7 percent. By contrast, white borrowers accounted for 69 percent of mortgages in 2014 versus 58 percent 10 years before then. That is based on an analysis of the most recent Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data in a report commissioned by the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), a trade group of African-American real estate agents and brokers. Using similar data, the Wall Street Journal in June reported that minorities are receiving a smaller share of mortgages from the largest U.S. retail banks as many have shifted their mortgage operations toward so-called jumbo mortgages. The report released yesterday by NAREB focuses on the decline of black borrowers receiving smaller mortgages that are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Only 3 percent of Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-eligible mortgages went to black borrowers in 2014, down from 6 percent in 2004, according to the report.
