African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos constitute 3.8%
of Iowa's population but represent only 1.7% of Iowa's homeowners.
As the state agency charged with eliminating discrimination in Iowa, the
Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) is duty-bound to investigate the racial
disparity in Iowa home ownership and determine whether that disparity is
the result of discrimination.
In 1995, the ICRC received an 18-month grant from the U. S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development to study mortgage lending practices in Iowa's
eight largest communities.
The ICRC completed the study in six stages. In stage one, the ICRC analyzed
1994 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data and calculated minority/white rejection
ratios and minority market shares for each lender in each of the eight communities.
In stage two, the ICRC conducted more than one hundred interviews of lending
institutions, advocacy groups/city officials, regulatory agencies, real
estate representatives, insurance agencies, and appraisal companies. In
stage three, the ICRC conducted on-site race and national origin, pre-application
tests of mortgage lenders. In stage four, the ICRC surveyed mortgage lenders
to determine workforce composition and to check on certain lending procedures.
In stage five, the ICRC reviewed and compared loan application files of
minority and white applicants. And in stage six, the ICRC calculated community-specific
segregation indices.
Information gained from the 18-month study was summarized in the "Operation Home Ownership" Final Report, issued June 2, 1997.
This resport, analyzing 1995 HMDA data for each mortgage lender in each of Iowa's eight largest communities, is meant as a follow-up to the June 1997 Report. A report analyzing 1996 HMDA data should be issued in the Spring 1998.