Fair Housing Month 2025: Still the Right Thing. Still Smart Business.

Fifty-seven years ago, the Fair Housing Act became law. A cornerstone of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, it outlawed housing discrimination based on race, religion, and national origin. Over the decades, its protections expanded to include sex, disability, and families with children. But even after all this time, access to homeownership still isn’t equal across the board.

Fair Housing Month is a moment to reflect, yes - but also a prompt to act.

Thoughtful credit expansion represents a strategic business opportunity. It unlocks new customer segments, fosters loyalty, and fuels growth by reaching underserved markets. Lenders who skillfully balance risk and opportunity through careful assessment and innovation create win-win outcomes for all stakeholders and a sustainable value. This kind of approaach benefits both their bottom line and the communities they serve. The key isn't simply increasing lending volume but implementing smarter lending practices guided by market data.

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The Mortgage Opportunity is Bigger Than You Think

There are plenty of mortgage-ready borrowers out there who aren’t being reached, and even more who could be ready with the right support. But throwing generic marketing at the wall and hoping for conversions? That’s expensive and ineffective.

Data makes the difference. It shows you where the gaps are, and how to close them. For example, you can use data about the homeownership group of different communities in your market in order to estimate the total market opportunity, as we show in the table below.

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Data about homeownership rate at a granular geographic area and by demographics is available through the American Community Survey (ACS), which we model for interactive exploration of questions of homeownership trends and opportunities. CensusVision helps lenders and other stakeholders pinpoint this opportunity instantly.

When you engage in this way with the data, you go beyond compliance. You begin to understand how to serve your communities better.

Our tools also support researchers, policymakers, and advocates. Whether you’re tracking demographic shifts with CensusVision or exploring affordability dynamics with CPS Pivot, we make it easy to ask sharper questions and find better answers.

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Insight that Moves the Needle

Expanding access doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means understanding that financial readiness, access to information, and trust in institutions vary across communities, and those differences should shape your strategy, turning the goal of driving more volume into smarter, more inclusive growth that reflects the real makeup of your market.

That’s where HMDAVision comes in. With our tool, you can:

• Compare your lending activity to the demographics of your footprint.
• Identify borrower segments you’re missing and why.
• See where competitors are gaining traction, and where they’re not.
• Dig into denial reasons to uncover avoidable barriers and coaching opportunities.

Consider This Insight from HMDAVision

In 2024, 27.1% of Hispanic home purchase mortgage denials in the Charlotte MSA were due to debt-to-income (DTI) ratio - well above the average.

How Can You Use It?

This insight signals a major opportunity to help more Hispanic families buy homes through targeted DTI support and inclusive lending strategies. If you are a lender in Charlotte MSA, you can take actionable steps with a sharpened focus for home purchase. For example, you can:

• Launch a campaign that prepares buyers early, before they shop for a home. Include budgeting tools, credit tips, and Spanish-language resources.
• Partner with Realtors serving Hispanic buyers. Equip realtors with your DTI-friendly resources so they can guide buyers to you before they get denied elsewhere.
• Promote High DTI purchase loan programs. Focus on FHA, USDA, or community lending programs designed for first-time or moderate-income buyers, often with higher DTI caps.

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Keep Exploring

If this post got you thinking, there’s more where that came from. Explore how data reveals new insights on access, opportunity, and impact, especially in your footprint. The Fair Housing Act was a starting point, not a finish line.

The next step is about execution. Let the data guide you.

Here’s more from our team that digs deeper into the themes of access, data, and opportunity:

-> What is HMDA - Know Your Customer

-> What is HMDA - Geographic Granularity

-> What is HMDA - Loan Life Cycle

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