Non-white and LGBTQ+ Americans Face Discrimination When House Hunting: Report
Originally published on September 28, 2023, by Kenneth Applewhaite for Redfin.
Nearly one-third (32%) of Black Americans who recently moved believe they were discriminated against based on their ethnicity or race during their home search, and an additional 22% believe they may have been discriminated against. That’s according to a survey from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The share is even higher for Hispanic Americans: 36% experienced discrimination and an additional 22% believe they may have been discriminated against.
Asian respondents who recently moved were less likely than Black or Hispanic respondents to report discrimination; 20% of them believe they were discriminated against based on their ethnicity or race. An additional 27% believe they may have faced discrimination.
A large portion of non-white homebuyers and renters feel housing discrimination despite laws against it. The federal Fair Housing Act is intended to protect homebuyers and renters from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. It’s illegal to refuse to rent or sell a home, refuse to enter negotiations or impose higher prices on a person based on one of those characteristics, among many other guidelines.
Still, discrimination isn’t uncommon in the housing and rental market and isn’t always overt. One example of discrimination in the housing market is “steering,” which is when a broker guides a buyer or seller away from the neighborhood their client is interested in and toward a neighborhood where their client “might fit in better.” Another example of discrimination is when sellers, agents, or landlords decide not to sell or rent to a person due to their race or ethnicity. Often, it isn’t explicit. A landlord might agree to rent to a person of color over the phone, but deny them for a bogus reason like a negative reference after meeting the prospective renter in person.