Survey of Blacks, Latinos Finds Optimism Over Home Buying

Blacks and Latinos are increasingly optimistic that racial discrimination is becoming less of a barrier to their buying homes, according to a study released Tuesday by the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Forty-eight percent of the blacks surveyed and 36% of the Latinos said being a member of a minority group presents special obstacles when it comes to buying a home.

But the perception that minorities suffer from discrimination “all or most of the time” has fallen by one-third among both blacks and Latinos.

The survey of minority home-buying attitudes also found the percentage of blacks who said they are “at least somewhat confident” that their income and credit record would qualify them for a mortgage has soared from 49% two years ago to 74% today.

Jim Johnson, Fannie Mae Foundation chairman, said the purpose of the survey was to gain “insights into how African Americans and Hispanics think about homeownership.”

“We wanted to share this information with all who care about how to help minorities buy homes--mortgage lenders, real estate professionals, nonprofits and policymakers,” he said.

Last year, the homeownership rate for all Americans reached an all-time high of 65.7%. But great disparities exist among the rate of homeownership by whites, blacks and Latinos.

Nearly 72% of whites own their own homes. Just 45% of blacks and Latinos own their own homes, according to the study conducted by the polling firm of Hart-Riehle-Hartwig Research.

A total of 752 blacks and 751 Latinos were questioned in the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus about 3.5 percentage points.

The Fannie Mae Foundation works to provide affordable housing in underserved communities.