Homeownership & Same-Sex Couples: Understanding Housing Credit & Risk

Image Credit: @rogersmichael/Twenty20

In 2019, an openly gay and married man was a surprise contender for a major-party presidential nomination. Same-sex couples who want to make a life together, however, could be paying extra for the privilege of owning a home.

Iowa State researchers "found no evidence that same-sex couples had a higher default risk." In other words, your sexuality has no bearing on your creditworthiness.

Researchers at Iowa State University released a study looking at decades of data, from 1990 to 2015, on national mortgage trends. Embedded within those numbers are countless stories of discrimination. Same sex-couples were 73 percent more likely to be denied a mortgage than heterosexual couples. They also paid more in interest and fees, to the tune of $86 million each year.

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Lenders may institute higher fees for certain mortgages based on how risky they determine applicants to be. However, the Iowa State researchers "found no evidence that same-sex couples had a higher default risk." In other words, your sexuality has no bearing on your creditworthiness.

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This story repeats itself in multiple communities and at multiple intersections of communities. In January 2019, researchers at Penn State found that minorities who seek mortgages often pay about 8 percent more in fees than white borrowers when their mortgage broker is white. Queer Americans are already far less likely to own a home than the national average, which ties closely into poverty rates for queer people overall.

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If you and your partner think you're facing an unfair disadvantage in your search for the right home, get in touch with lawyers or advocacy groups, such as Lambda Legal. Buying a home is a true pain in the neck, and everyone deserves to have a piece of that.