These Residents Report Housing Discrimination

A representative survey of more than 12,000 adults in 26 metros conducted by Zillow in March and April reveals that discrimination in housing is far from a thing of the past. Instead, 57% of the people surveyed said they had experienced some form of discrimination in the housing market. This group included 53% of homeowners and 49% of whites.

The group most likely to be singled out appears to be LGBTQ+, of whom four out of five (79%) said they had suffered some form of housing discrimination. Blacks came next (69%), followed by Hispanics (64%) and Nonwhites (63%). Three out of five renters (61%) and 58% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were also exposed to similar bias.

Given that 70% of respondents in each category viewed owning a home as necessary to live the American dream and 78% viewed it as necessary to building and passing on generational wealth, the results of the survey are even more troubling.

Surprisingly, however, only 42% of respondents said “fair housing affects me or my family.” Again LGBTQ+ and Black respondents were most likely to agree with this statement. The failure of so many respondents to recognize the importance of fair housing policies “highlights how much work is needed to continue to educate people about their rights under fair housing laws,” the report stated.

“April is Fair Housing Month, and this research shows how far we have to go to make housing fair and accessible for all,” said Manny Garcia, senior population scientist at Zillow. “Fair housing issues are more likely to be top of mind for younger generations, likely attributable to their higher likelihood of moving, renting and buying a home more frequently than older generations, given their current stage of life.”

Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) individuals have been hampered by exclusionary housing policies and a tight supply of housing from buying homes on the same scale as whites, the report said. It noted that 74.5% of white households own their homes, compared to 46% of Black and 49% of Hispanic households.