2010-2014 Consolidated Plan - City of Champaign

Needs of Small Related Homeowners (less than four members)There are approximately 12,000 small related families in the City of Champaign, of which 5,699 are below80% of the Median Family Income level. About 4,000 of those are low-income homeowners. More than40% of extremely low-income homeowners report some type of housing problem.Needs of Large Related Homeowners (five or more members)There are approximately 700 large related families in the City of Champaign, of which 34 percent reportsome type of housing problem.All Other (Non-Elderly)Of the 2,901 households in this category, approximately 24 percent are extremely low-income, with morethan half reporting some type of housing problem.Minority HouseholdsAccording to the 2000 data, extremely low-income Hispanic, and black non-Hispanic households areexperiencing housing problems to a greater extent than white non-Hispanic households. The datafluctuates among the different racial/ethnic groups as incomes increase. Elderly black non-Hispanichomeowners and non-elderly Hispanic homeowners with incomes less than 30% MFI indicate a 100%occurrence of housing problems.HUD considers racial groups to have a disproportionate housing need if their incidence of housingproblems is 10% higher than the percentage of persons in the income category as a whole. Based onthe information in the previous tables, Hispanic owners with incomes below 30% MFI and blackhomeowners with incomes between 30-50% MFI have disproportionate housing needs.A fairly recent occurrence which impacts the housing market is the rise of immigration. There are 14,389persons who were born outside of the United States living in Champaign County according to 2000Census, of which 6,564 settled after 1995. The rising number of immigrants in Champaign County shouldbe considered in planning to meet both current and future housing needs. The decade from 1990-2000saw the largest increase in the local immigrant population, with numbers rising each year. From 1990 to2000, while the population of the City of Champaign increased by 6%, the Asian population living in theCity grew by 77%. The number of individuals defining themselves as Hispanic also increased significantlyin 2000. However, due to the revised definition of Hispanic used in the 2000 Census, it is impossible todetermine the exact increase by comparing to prior Census figures.Demand for the City’s housing rehab programs has historically been high among black, non-Hispanicowners and very low among Hispanic and Asian owners. Over the last four years, the City’s housingrehab assistance programs served households representing 45% white, 53% black, and 2% other. Muchof the reason for this disproportionate demand from black homeowners may be due to the fact thatminority applicants are denied for private home improvement financing at higher rates than non-minorityapplicants, regardless of income. In a study conducted by a University of Illinois graduate student in2004 using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA 2001) data for Champaign-Urbana as well as the Cityof Champaign Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (2007), minority applicants for home purchaseand home improvement loans were shown to have higher denial rates than non-minority borrowers. Thispattern exists among all income groups. For all racial groups, credit history is the number one reason fordenial of home improvement loans.This data highlights the need for continued scrutiny of local lending methods, and a more proactiveinvestigation of fair housing practices. High rates of denial for poor credit indicate that there isinsufficient effort being made to educate the public about the importance of debt management.Needs Assessment: Housing and Homelessness 25