Latino homeowners have absorbed the worst in California's foreclosure crisis, and account for 48 percent of homes repossessed from late 2006 through 2009, the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending reported today.
Its new study, Dreams Deferred, showed that Latino owners surrendered 301,086 homes to lenders - almost half the state's 625,356 foreclosures during the period.
About 11 percent of the state's foreclosures - 69,176 - occurred in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.
Statewide, 41 percent of loans that resulted in foreclosure were made in 2006, said the report.
The CRL study said that Latino households, particularly in the hard-hit Central Valley, have suffered disproportionately. Latinos accounted for almost half the state's foreclosures, but are 21 percent of California homeowners and one-third of its adult population.
Half the state's foreclosures were tied to purchase loans and half to refinance loans, the study said.
Authors of the study said most of the repossessed homes were modest, averaging about 1,700 square feet.
The study says Latino and African-American households accounted for nearly six in every 10 homes repossessed in California. African-American households suffered 47,337 foreclosures, nearly 8 percent of the state's total.
Lenders repossessed 216,037 homes from non-Latino whites - 34.6 percent of foreclosures statewide. Asian Americans were 6.4 percent, with 39,718 foreclosures.
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