Congress, banking regulators and President Bush all are promoting a potential way for subprime borrowers to avert foreclosure. Called loan modification or loan workout, it means changing a mortgage’s terms to make the payments more affordable.

Mortgage lenders have publicly embraced the concept, saying they care about “home ownership preservation” and will work to prevent foreclosures. A “loan mod” might involve freezing the interest of an adjustable-rate mortgage, for example - perhaps setting payments at 8 percent instead of letting them soar to 11 percent.

But consumer advocates say it appears that few modifications are actually occurring, and lenders refuse to provide any data to show how common the practice is.

Minority borrowers were more apt to receive higher-cost mortgages than whites last year, and they were denied loans more often, according to a Federal Reserve analysis released Wednesday.

“The incidence of higher-priced lending for blacks and Hispanic white borrowers is notably greater than for non-Hispanic whites,” the Fed study said. “Similar patterns are shown in racial and ethnic differences in denial rates.”

The study did not include information on borrowers’ credit scores, which Robert Avery, a Fed economist and lead author of the report, described as a significant piece of missing information. The study was based on data provided to the government by lenders under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

This year’s slowdown in homebuilding might mean better quality of construction for buyers.

That’s because builders are no longer in such a hurry to finish houses.

“The builders are carrying higher amounts of inventory than they have in the past,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president of the real estate and construction industries practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “They are delivering more homes on time and complete, so there are fewer construction problems.

“It’s a silver lining to the slowdown in the market.”

During boom times when builders are scrambling to finish thousands of houses, there are more chances for construction errors, Ms. Sonkin said.