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Just Released: Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: National Results from Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 of the Housing Discrimination Study (HDS)

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HUD's Office of PD&R has released data from the Housing
Discrimination Study (HDS 2000). HDS 2000 represents the
most ambitious effort to date to measure the extent of
housing discrimination in the United States against
people based on their race or ethnic group. It is the
third nationwide effort sponsored by HUD to measure the
extent of discrimination faced by minority home seekers.
The previous studies were conducted in 1977 and 1989.

Like the earlier studies, HDS 2000 uses paired testing to
measure disparate treatment. In each test, a majority
(white) person or couple and a minority person or couple
both express interest in a dwelling unit advertised for
sale or rent, and both testers record what they are told.
The researchers go to considerable lengths to ensure that
the majority and minority testers present comparable
characteristics (other than race or ethnic group) to the
person selling or renting the unit. There were three
phases to the HDS 2000.

For Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: Phase
1, the researchers conducted 4,600 paired tests in 23
metropolitan areas nationwide. They found significant
decreases between 1989 and 2000 in the level of disparate
treatment experienced by Hispanics and African Americans
seeking to buy a home. There has also been a modest
decrease in disparate treatment of African Americans
seeking to rent a unit. This downward trend, however, has
not been seen for Hispanic renters. Indeed, the report
indicates that Hispanic renters are now more likely to
experience discrimination in their housing search than
African American renters.

For Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: Phase
2 - Asians and Pacific Islanders, the first ever estimate
of the level of discrimination experienced by Asians and
Pacific Islanders, the researchers conducted 889 paired
tests in eleven metropolitan areas nationwide in 2000 and
2001. Key findings show that:

o Asian and Pacific Islander prospective renters
experienced consistent adverse treatment relative
to comparable whites in 21.5 percent of tests;
about the same as the level for African American
and Hispanic renters.

o Asian and Pacific Islander prospective homebuyers
experienced consistent adverse treatment relative
to comparable whites 20.4 percent of the time, with
systematic discrimination occurring in housing
availability, inspections, financing assistance,
and agent encouragement.

For Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: Phase
3 - Native Americans, the first-ever estimate of the
level of disparate treatment experienced by Native
American home seekers, the researchers conducted 197
rental tests and 100 sales tests in the metropolitan
areas of Minnesota, Montana, and New Mexico.

Across all three states, Native Americans receive
consistently unfavorable treatment relative to whites in
28.5 percent of rental tests. Systematic discrimination
is most observable on measures of availability. That is,
whites are more often told that the advertised unit is
available, are more often told about similar units, and
are told about more units than similarly qualified Native
American testers.

Data from the Housing Discrimination Study 2000 are
available as a free download from HUD USER at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/hsgfin/hds.html
or in printed form for a nominal charge by calling
1-800-245-2691.

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