October 7, 2026, The Atlanta Journal – Constitution, Racial bias in housing appraisals is real. Transparency and advocacy are key.
Author Josh Silver demonstrated this in his book “Ending Redlining Through a Community-Centered Reform of the Community Reinvestment Act” (2025). HMDA requires most mortgage lenders to publicly disclose the income, race and other demographic data of mortgage applicants, the census tract of the property and whether the application was approved or rejected. These data protect applicants’ privacy while providing lenders, regulators, and consumers information about access to and fairness in mortgage markets. Similar disclosure of appraisal data would likely yield similar benefits.
