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Across 26 US metros, majority of people say they have experienced housing discrimination

May 17, 2024

Though fair housing laws have been in place for nearly 60 years, a majority of people — particularly renters, young adults and people of color — report facing housing discrimination

Fifty-seven percent of all respondents in a recent Zillow survey reported experiencing housing discrimination of some kind.
LGBTQ+ individuals were most likely to say they have experienced discrimination.
However, fewer than half of respondents said fair housing is important to them or their families — highlighting how much work is needed to educate people about these laws.

SEATTLE, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Most people say they have experienced housing discrimination, with younger generations, renters, LGBTQ+ people and people of color more likely to say fair housing is an issue facing them and their families, according to a recent Zillow survey of 26 major U.S. metropolitan areas.

Across 26 major US metros, majority of people say they have experienced housing discrimination.

Although fair housing laws — which ensure equal and nondiscriminatory access to housing — have been in place for nearly 60 years, discrimination remains a stubborn factor in housing, Zillow’s latest Housing Aspirations Report shows. The survey found a majority of respondents (57%) reported experiencing some kind of housing discrimination, with groups such as LGBTQ+ populations reporting discrimination at higher rates. However, overall, only 42% of respondents reported that fair housing impacts them or their families, highlighting how much work is needed to continue to educate people about their rights under fair housing laws.

“April is Fair Housing Month, and this research shows how far we have to go to make housing fair and accessible for all,” said Manny Garcia, senior population scientist at Zillow. “Over half of respondents report experiencing housing discrimination. Fair housing issues are more likely to be top of mind for younger generations, likely attributable to their higher likelihood of moving, renting and buying a home more frequently than older generations, given their current stage of life.”

Seventy percent of respondents agreed that owning a home is necessary to achieve the American dream, and nearly 80% reported that owning a home is critical to building and passing on generational wealth. However, exclusionary housing policies and practices, plus a tight supply of housing and a variety of other factors, have prevented aspiring BIPOC homeowners from purchasing homes at the same rate as their white counterparts: While 74.5% of white households own their homes, only 46% of Black and 49% of Hispanic households own theirs.

According to Zillow’s research, one of the most significant obstacles preventing potential home buyers from accessing homeownership is saving for a down payment. Addressing the down payment barrier for first-time home buyers can help more people of color access the benefits homeownership offers and can help close the homeownership gaps between Black, Hispanic and white households.

How Zillow is addressing fair housing issues
Zillow includes information on down payment assistance resources on every for-sale listing on its site and app to help potential buyers connect to one of the more than 2,000 assistance programs available across the United States.

Last year Zillow advocated for the passage of the Washington Covenant Homeownership Act. This new program will provide financial assistance to support homeownership for people impacted by housing discrimination in the state once excluded by racially restrictive covenants.

This year, Zillow announced that renters who pay their landlords through Zillow can now opt in to rent payment reporting to help build or enhance their credit history, with on-time payments reported to a major national credit bureau.

A patchwork of cities and just 23 states offer explicit fair housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. To help LGBTQ+ people and their allies more easily identify which homes are in jurisdictions that offer protections, Zillow developed an LGBTQ+ Local Legal Protections tool, which adds information on LGBTQ+ housing, employment and public accommodation laws to all Zillow home listings across the nation.

Zillow works year-round to help bring about meaningful change in the U.S. real estate industry; make home a reality for more people; and to educate consumers about the history of housing discrimination and the legacy it leaves.

Methodology
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of adults ages 18 and older, Zillow Group Population Science conducted a representative survey of more than 12,000 adults across 26 metros. The survey was fielded in March and April 2024.

Sampling & weighting
Results from this survey are representative of adults in each metropolitan area. To achieve representativeness, ZG Population Science used a two-pronged approach. First, the initial recruitment to the sample was balanced to all adults from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) on the basis of age, relationship status, income, ethnicity/race, education and sex. Additional targeted subgroups were sampled based on all key household demographic characteristics. Second, statistical raking was used to create calibration weights to ensure that the distribution of survey respondents matched each metro’s population with respect to a number of key demographic characteristics.

About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow and its affiliates help people find and get the home they want by connecting them with digital solutions, dedicated partners and agents, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences.

Zillow Group’s affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow^®, Zillow Premier Agent^®, Zillow Home Loans℠, Trulia^®, Out East^®, StreetEasy^®, HotPads^®, ShowingTime+℠, Spruce^® and Follow Up Boss^®.

All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2023 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate.

SOURCE Zillow, Inc.