Discrimination in mortgage lending: The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

Abstract

There exists a long history of legislation at the national and state levels in the United States designed to have an impact on the home mortgage lending market. The present research makes use of data available through one national legislative act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, to ascertain if some census tracts in Memphis, Tennessee are experiencing lower than expected rates of mortgage lending from conventional and governmental sources due to the percent of their population which is black. The data indicate that even after instituting objective controls, i.e., income, neighborhood conditions, and two dimensions of demand, the percent of the population which is black significantly affects (negatively) lending rates. These results are discussed in regard to (1) the implications for patterns of city growth and development, and (2) further legislative action required to make the study of such dis-crimination easier for a public charged with that responsibility. © 1982 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.