Report highlights ongoing racial disparities in Atlanta mortgage lending

A new report from the Reinvestment Fund shows that people of color in metro Atlanta are still more likely to be denied a mortgage than white applicants — even when they have similar financial qualifications.

The report looked at mortgage lending in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton counties. It found that Black, Hispanic, and Asian borrowers all face higher denial rates than white borrowers. That’s true even for applicants with strong credit and stable finances.

Black and Hispanic applicants were less likely to meet certain financial thresholds, like debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios. But even well-qualified borrowers of color were still turned down more often than white applicants.