Although results from the 2004 SCF are not available, data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act indicate that home-purchase lending to lower-income families increased 11 percent between 2001 and 2003. These data also reveal a 17 percent increase in home mortgage loans to African-Americans and a 30 percent increase in home mortgage loans to Hispanics.
Further, HMDA data for the same period show a 45 percent increase in home mortgage loans in low-income tracts, while lending in higher-income tracts rose by only 19 percent. In weighing the implications of the trends reflected by the data, it is important to consider the presence of changes in external market influences.