NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy released a report (PDF) analyzing federal lending data, noting that mortgages in the city dropped 14% between 2006 and 2007 while they dropped 25% nationally. And statistics along racial lines are interesting, too: There were 44% less loans to black NYC residents and 34% less loans to Hispanics, while it was mostly unchanged for whites and Asian borrowers grew by 6%. The center's co-director Ingrid Gould Ellen said the data was troubling, since it "may indicate a reversal of the gains in homeownership that black and Hispanic communities have seen over the past few years.” The NY Times points out, "In 1996, only about one in four of all New York City home purchase loans were issued to black and Hispanic borrowers; by 2006, those loans accounted for nearly 40 percent, largely due to a disproportionate reliance on risky borrowing." more ›