NAHREP: Hispanics Drive Homeownership Growth for 6th Straight Year
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals released its 2020 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, showing for the sixth consecutive year, Latinos increased their homeownership rate, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The report said more than 600,000 Latinos purchased a home with a mortgage in 2020, an increase of 13.0 percent from 2019. Over the past decade, Latinos have accounted for more than 50 percent of homeownership growth in the U.S.
“Despite significant headwinds, Latinos drove homeownership growth in America for the sixth consecutive year,” said Gary Acosta, NAHREP Co-Founder & CEO. “This was especially consequential in 2020 because it was housing more than any other sector that pulled the country out of the coronavirus-induced recession.”
“A strong work ethic lifted Latino homebuyers to near record numbers,” said Sara Rodriguez, NAHREP 2021 National President. “Improvements to housing supply and mortgage credit rules will ensure robust growth for the next decade and beyond.”
Other report findings:
–The overwhelming number of Latinos aging into prime home buying years remains the biggest catalyst for homeownership growth. With a median age of 29.8, Latinos are nearly 14 years younger than the non-Hispanic White population. In 2020, nearly half (43.6 percent) of Latino homebuyers were under the age of 34, compared to 37.3 percent of the general population.
–Due to Latino over-representation in the service industry, the annual unemployment rate for Latinos in 2020 was 10.4 percent, the highest annual average since 2011.Latinas were hit with the highest unemployment rate in 2020 of any group and have yet to fully recover. This is coupled with Latinas having the largest pay discrepancy in the nation, 55 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white males.
–Lack of affordable housing inventory remains the number-one barrier to advancing sustainable Hispanic homeownership. When looking at the top 10 metropolitan statistical areas where Latinos purchased the most homes in 2019, housing inventory dropped an average of 50.6 percent in suburban neighborhoods and 26.6 percent in urban neighborhoods, according to Realtor.com.
–Latinos have a median credit score of 668, a Debt-to-Income Ratio of 41 percent, and purchase homes with a median down payment of 3.5 percent, making them particularly vulnerable to underwriting changes.
