A report issued by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that home ownership losses have been highest in African American and Latino communities. Only 47.5 percent of African Americans and 48.9 percent of Latinos are homeowners, while 74.9 percent of whites own homes. Home ownership gains between 1995 and 2004 in oppressed communities were largely due to predatory subprime lending schemes that are now unraveling.
The gap in home ownership rates reflects the racism in the financial system. African American and Latino loan applicants are turned down almost 2.5 times more often than white applicants. Those who were able to get mortgages were more than twice as likely to have subprime mortgages as white homeowners, even among those with comparable income.
Additionally, African American and Latino communities have higher foreclosure rates largely because they have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis. In April, the official unemployment rate hit 8.9 percent, with rates of 15 percent and 11.3 percent for African Americans and Latinos.
