NAHREP: Hispanics Largely Responsible for Increase in Homeownership in Past Decade

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals said Hispanics accounted for nearly 40 percent of U.S. household formation and nearly 63 percent of the increase in homeownership in the past 10 years.

The association’s 2018 State of Hispanic Homeownership report (https://nahrep.org/shhr/) also reported Hispanics represented 81 percent of U.S. labor force growth in the past decade.

“After 12 consecutive years of declines that affected all population segments, the Hispanic segment helped pull the nation out of a devastating housing recession in 2015 when it became the first ethnic demographic to show an increase to its post-recession homeownership rate,” wrote Marisa Calderon, Executive Director of NAHREP and author of the report. “Hispanics have been the only ethnic demographic group to raise their homeownership rate in each of the past four years.”

The report said in 2018, Hispanics formed 485,000 new households, accounting for 32.4 percent of total U.S. household formations, representing a net gain of 362,000 homeowners. This raised the Hispanic homeownership rate from 46.2 percent in 2017 to 47.1 percent in 2018 and was the largest net gain for Hispanics since 2005. Over the past decade, Hispanics have accounted for 62.7 percent of net U.S. homeownership gains, growing from 6.303 million homeowners to 7.877 million, an increase of nearly 1.6 million.

In a previous report, the Urban Institute, Washington, D.C., said Hispanics could account for more than half of all new homeowners over the next several years and for 56 percent of all new homeowners by 2030. Additionally, the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., said Hispanic are projected to increase by 4.6 million households between 2015 and 2025. Hispanic household growth continues to outpace that of overall U.S. household growth and is anticipated to do so for the foreseeable future,” it said.

The NAHREP report also reported Hispanic median household income rose to $50,486, accounting for the largest increase in income (3.7 percent) among all racial or ethnic population groups.

NAHREP said at 58.9 million, the Hispanic population represents a rising share of the U.S. population, equating to 18.1 percent of the overall U.S. population. Between 2016 and 2017, the Hispanic population increased by 1.5 million, accounting for more than half of the nation’s population growth. Hispanics are the country’s largest ethnic minority and have accounted for more than half of total U.S. population growth since 2000.

And the report said the Hispanic population skews younger as well. At a median age of 28.7, Hispanics are younger than the median age of non-Hispanic whites (43.2 years) and the median overall U.S. age of 37.8 years.7 A majority (60.4 percent) of all U.S. Hispanics are 35 or younger with more than a quarter (27.2 percent) as Millennials, many of whom are entering their prime home buying years.

Additionally, the report said at an average of 3.7 persons, Hispanic households are larger than the U.S. average of 3.0 and are more likely to be a multigenerational household. Hispanic households are also more likely to consist of two parents and at least one child.

“In 2008, the Great Recession rocked the U.S. economy, upended the housing industry and caused millions of foreclosures nationwide,” the report said. “During that time, homeownership losses for Hispanics were particularly devastating. Today, unemployment is at historic lows and the economy is amid the longest expansion on record. These advances are due in large part to the contributions of Hispanics from 2008 to 2018.”

The report noted despite concerns about housing inventory and changing government policies related to homeownership, leading indicators such as household formation, income trends, age and consumer sentiment “suggest that Hispanics will continue to drive homeownership gains in America for the foreseeable future.”