NeighborWorks Report Shows Hispanic Homeowners More Likely to Hold ARMs than Fixed Rate Mortgages

Today NeighborWorks America, the administrator of the Congressionally authorized National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program, announced that of the more than 363,000 homeowners who received foreclosure prevention counseling as a result of NFMC funding through March 31, 2009, 21 percent were Hispanic homeowners, nearly twice their representation of total homeowners. In all, 53 percent of NFMC Program clients were minority homeowners, or more than twice the overall percentage of minority homeowners.

The data reported today are part of the third NFMC report distributed to Congress in June 2009, and are based on client information provided from more than 1,700 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, state housing finance agencies, and nonprofit housing counseling agencies that received NFMC funding through March 31, 2009. As of June 30, 2009, more than 540,000 homeowners have received foreclosure prevention counseling as a result of NFMC funding.

Nationwide, Hispanic homeowners make up only 11 percent of the nation’s homeowners, according to industry studies. Twenty-four percent of the nation’s homeowners are racial/ethnic minorities, with African American homeowners accounting for 9 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders accounting for 4 percent.

Also according to the NeighborWorks America NFMC report, Hispanic clients who sought foreclosure prevention counseling were the only group of homeowners more likely to hold adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) than fixed rate mortgages. Forty-seven percent of Hispanic NFMC clients held ARMs, and 41 percent held fixed rate mortgages. Nationwide, only 18 percent of outstanding mortgages are ARMs.

All other NFMC clients were more likely to hold fixed rate mortgages than ARMs. Fifty-one percent of African American clients held fixed rate mortgages, and 38 percent held ARMs. Like African American NFMC clients, White NFMC clients were more likely to hold fixed rate mortgages (59 percent) than ARMs (31 percent).

For more information about the NFMC Program, visit www.nw.org/nfmc.