A comparative analysis of the causes of discrimination between rental and owner–occupied housing units

Abstract

Using fair housing audits, previous research has shown that black renters, unlike their white counterparts, continue to receive unfavourable treatment in the rental housing market. We extend the analysis to owner-occupied housing units for the Detroit Metropolitan area. Although racial discrimination appears to be declining in the rental market over time, our results show no sign of any change in the owner-occupied housing market. Probing the causes of discrimination, we find that significant differences and similarities exist in the hypotheses explaining discrimination between the two types of housing units.