How Discriminatory are Appraisals?
Getting a bit ahead of FHFA’s new equitable-finance mandate and its express demand for appraisal equity, Freddie Mac has released a detailed study of one of the most significant barriers to housing-finance equity: discriminatory appraisal practices that reduce the chances for wealth accumulation. The study finds demonstrable differences in appraisals for like-kind homes that correlate strongly with race and ethnicity, but provides no guide to either causation or cure.