Jacksonville Among Tops in Minority Lending

Minorities made up the fastest-growing segment of new homebuyers in 2005, and Jacksonville was among the top 10 markets in the country for such 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 the 52 percent increase in minority lending more than three times the 16 percent increase for whites.

Jacksonville 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."

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal