Minority home lending up sharply in 2005MortgagePress.comDiversity, Genworth, 2005 Minority Home Buying Surge report, Compliance Technologies, ComplianceTech
Mortgage Lending Industry Diversity Conference
reveals African-American, Hispanic, and Asian home buying growth
outpaces white growth
Minority buyers comprised the fastest growing segment of all new
home purchase mortgages in 2005, according to a new analysis
released today at the Second Annual Mortgage Lending Industry
Diversity and Emerging Markets Conference & Career Fair in the
Washington, D.C. region.
"The 2005 Minority Home Buying Surge" report finds that the
percentage increase for all minority loans in "high volume areas"
combined was three times greater in the top 20 mortgage growth
metropolitan areas than for White households, and the increase for
Hispanic, African-American and Asian loans was up to five times
greater. The report was issued by Genworth Mortgage Insurance and
Compliance Technologies
(ComplianceTech), co-sponsors of the diversity conference.
"We are now witnessing the positive effects of the growth in
immigrant households who want to own a piece of the American
Dream," said Michael Taliefero, managing director of
ComplianceTech. "While immigration is part of the story, the lower
homeownership rates among African Americans and Hispanics represent
pent up mortgage demand that is starting to be filled."
Using newly released 2005 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)
data, the new report, prepared by ComplianceTech, analyzes the
change in minority home purchase loans between 2004 and 2005 in 388
metro areas. Minority borrowers had a greater percent change than
Whites in 320 of those markets.
"Despite the nationwide cooling in home buying, minorities
represented a significantly larger percentage of new purchases in
2005 than they did in 2004," said Kevin Schneider, president of
Genworth Financial's U.S. mortgage insurance business. "We're
determined to help close the homeownership gap, and it's good to
see that progress is being made."
When ComplianceTech conceived the conference over two years ago
to boost minority homeownership, Genworth Financial was the first
to partner with the minority-owned company to develop and stage the
Mortgage Lending Industry Diversity Conference series in 2005.
Topics to be addressed this year include minority workforce
participation; reducing the minority homeownership gap; the role of
GSEs; market segmentation; prime/sub-prime lending; and ways in
which state and local governments are boosting homeownership.
The 2005 Minority Home Buying Surge report focuses on high
volume metro areas (areas with greater than 1,000 loans per year
for all minorities, and greater than 400 loans for Hispanics, 500
loans for African-Americans, and 200 loans for Asians) and shows
minorities are making homeownership progress in these markets. The
full report also examines low volume and very high volume
areas.
The report provides a series of "Top 10 lists" of metro areas
and the 2004-05 rates of change in mortgage lending for all
minorities and specific minority groups; Hispanic,
African-American, and Asian. Below is a snapshot for each minority
category. The full analysis includes lists for the top 20 metro
areas for each category. It is available at www.mortgageindustrydiversity.com.
Highlights of the report for all minorities include:
The high volume metro area with the greatest change in all
minority lending was Ocala, Fla., with a 90 percent increase over
2004 levels for minorities--7.5 times greater than the 12 percent
increase in home purchase loans for Whites in that metro area. In
order, the top five markets for all minority home buying are Ocala,
Fla.; Lakeland, Fla.; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; Boise
City-Nampa, Idaho; and Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas.
Highlights of the report for Hispanics include:
The 2005 percentage increase in mortgage loans for Hispanics was
4.7 times greater than that for white borrowers among the top 20
high volume metro areas with at least 400 Hispanic loans. The
market with the greatest growth in Hispanic home buying from 2004
to 2005 was Ocala, Fla., with a 97 percent increase--eight times
greater than the 12 percent increase in home purchase loans for
whites in that metro area. In order, the top five markets for
Hispanic home buying growth are Ocala, Fla.; Lakeland, Fla.; Cape
Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, Fla.; and
Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Highlights of the report for African-Americans include:
Home purchase loans in 2005 for African Americans increased at a
rate 4.8 times the rate for white homebuyers for the top 20 metro
areas with at least 500 African-American loans. The market with the
greatest growth in African American home buying from 2004 to 2005
was Lakeland, Fla., with an 86 percent increase--3.2 times greater
than the 26.7 percent increase in home purchase loans for whites in
that metro area. In order, the top five high volume markets for
African-American home buying growth are Lakeland, Fla.; Ocala,
Fla.; South Bend-Mishawaka, Ind.; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; and
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas.
Highlights of the report for Asians include:
Among the top 20 metro areas with the greater than 200 Asian
loans in 2005, the percent change for Asians on home purchase loans
was five times greater than the 2005 change rate for white home
purchase borrowers. The top metro area for Asian home buying growth
in this category was Albuquerque, N.M., which experienced a 177
percent increase over 2004--12.8 times greater than the 13.9
percent increase in home purchase loans for whites in that metro
area. In order, the top five high volume markets for Asian home
buying growth are Albuquerque, N.M.; Lubbock, Texas; Lakeland,
Fla.; Ocala, Fla.; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
