Racial Differences in Mortgage Refinancing, Distress, and Housing Wealth Accumulation During COVID-19
This paper finds that mortgage refinancing benefits from lower interest rates during the pandemic have not been shared equally among racial and ethnic groups. Based on a sample of 5 million mortgages, the authors estimate that only 6% of Black borrowers and 9% of Hispanic borrowers refinanced between January and October 2020, compared with almost 12% of White borrowers. Among those who experienced distress during the peak months of May and June 2020, the percent who were still behind on their mortgage payments as of February 2021 was 9 percentage points higher among Black borrowers and 2.2 percentage points higher among Hispanic borrowers as compared to White borrowers.
Kristopher Gerardi et al., Policy Hub, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
July 2021