Jacksonville Housing Market Among Top in Nation for Minority Homeowners

Possibly due to its low-interest Florida mortgage financing program, the Jacksonville housing market was among the top 10 markets in the country for growth in minority homebuyer growth.

A report issued by Genworth Mortgage Insurance and Compliance Technologies ranked Jacksonville 10th in the country. The rankings are based on the difference between the increase in home mortgage lending to minorities and the increase in lending to whites.

Jacksonville was 10th in the all-minorities category, with a 52 percent increase in minority
Florida mortgage loan lending, more than three times the 16 percent increase for whites.

The city was seventh in the country for the increase in lending to African-Americans, with the 42 percent increase in lending to blacks about 2.5 times the increase in lending to whites.

“Despite the nationwide cooling in homebuying, minorities represented a significantly larger percentage of new purchases in 2005 than they did in 2004,” said Kevin Schneider, president of Genworth Financial’s U.S. mortgage insurance business. “We’re determined to close the homeownership gap, and it’s good to see that progress is being made.”

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