CHARLOTTE, N.C.–Despite decades of a variety of efforts to address the disparity, Black Americans still face a more difficult road to home ownership than whites, with Black applicants being 1.7 times more likely to be turned down, a new analysis has found.

The analysis, conducted for LendingTree, found Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich., had the highest denial rates in the nationwide survey.

“High mortgage denial rates — along with limited generational wealth, income disparities and discriminatory practices — are among the persistent challenges that keep the Black home ownership rate lower than that of other racial groups,” LendingTree said in releasing its findings.

Disparities Not Uniform

The report noted, however, the disparities aren’t uniform. Denial rates — and the gaps between Black and overall applicants — vary widely across the country.

“For generations, homeownership has been one of the most powerful tools for building wealth that Americans have,” LendingTree Chief Consumer Finance Analyst Matt Schulz said in a statement. “Home ownership isn’t cheap, and there are ongoing costs; however, the equity that you can build over the years can be incredibly helpful. Not only can it provide you funding when you’re in a financial pinch, but it can also be used in working toward other financial goals.”

Key Findings

According to LendingTree, key findings in the survey include:

• Black homebuyers are 1.7 times more likely to be denied a mortgage than all homebuyers. The denial rate for Black applicants across the U.S. was 19.00% in 2024, compared with 11.27% for all applicants — a gap of 7.73 percentage points.
• Grand Rapids, Mich., Detroit, and Raleigh, N.C., have the widest denial rate gaps among the 50 largest metros. In the two Michigan metros, Black borrowers experience denial rates exceeding 20.00% — 9.75 and 8.54 points higher than each metro’s rate among all homeowners. In Raleigh, N.C., the gap is 8.44 points.
• Salt Lake City’s Black denial rate is only 0.24 points higher than its overall rate. San Antonio (1.54 points) and Fresno, Calif. (2.02 points), are the next closest. Three metros each in California and Texas rank among the bottom 10 for the lowest gaps.
• Black homebuyer denial rates are highest in Grand Rapids, Detroit and Miami, and lowest in Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland, Ore. Although denial rates can vary across the 50 metros, they exceed 10.00% everywhere but Salt Lake City, at 8.94%.
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is the leading reason for mortgage denials for Black or all borrowers, but credit history is a prominent obstacle for Black applicants. In 2024, DTI ratios accounted for 34.02% of all denials, compared with 34.08% among Black applicants. However, credit history was the main reason in 24.85% of all denials, compared with 33.16% among Black borrowers, an 8.31-point gap.