Measuring Racial Discrimination in American Housing Markets. The Housing Market Practices Survey

摘要

This first formal report on a nationwide study describes the status of discrimination against blacks in the sale and rental of housing. Approximately 300 whites and 300 blacks, (called auditors), shopped in matched pairs for housing advertised in the newspapers of 40 standard metropolitan statistical areas. A systematic comparison of the relative treatments accorded black and white housing seekers, done under the tightly controlled circumstances of the study, provides the basis for the results. The objectives of the study were to measure the nature and extent of discrimination against blacks in American housing markets, and to determine what factors (including the enforcement of housing civil rights legislation) influence the observed discrimination. Definitive evidence shows that blacks are systematically treated less favorably with regard to housing availability, were treated less courteously, and were asked for more information than were whites (e.g. with respect to an index of housing availability, the discrimination in the rental market was 27 percent and in the sales market 15 percent). The effect on housing searches of blacks may be cumulative; if 27 percent of rental agents discriminate, then a black who visits 4 rental agents can expect to encounter at least 1 instance of discrimination 72 percent of the time. Discriminatory treatment of blacks appears to vary regionally and by size of metropolitan area, although precise factors influencing discriminatory treatment have not been fully explored. Policy implications cannot be acted upon until the data have been further analyzed. However, several observations can be drawn from the findings: (1) efforts to combat racial discrimination have not been completely successful, (2) discriminatory behavior may be quite difficult to detect, and (3) although substantial racial discrimination was observed, blacks were treated no differently from their white teammates in a high percentage of the total number of cases. Further findings are included. Tables contain a city by city breakdown of the results. Appendices include excerpts from the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the manual for auditors, and the rental and sales audit report forms.