Latinos are playing an important role in the housing market, and it does affect employment and the economy.

Between 2000 and 2013, the overall number of household owners increased from 69.2 million to 74.7 million. During the aforementioned time frame, Latinos accounted for nearly half of the total home ownership rate in the U.S. with 47 percent.

At the 2014 League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual national convention, "The Future of Latino Housing and Homeownership" session was discussed Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco's Assistant Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Kevin Blackburn, National Community Reinvestment Coalition Director of Legislative and Policy Advocacy Mitria Wilson; CHANGER Inc. Mortgage Counselor Lisa Gutierrez; and LULAC's New Jersey State Director James Fukuda.

"[Latinos] got hit hard," said Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Latino Affairs Director Aracely Panameno, who served as moderator of the session, about the recent housing bubble burst. She noted 25 percent of Latinos and African Americans who bought their first home during the bubble years will lose their homes.

According to Wilson, the average credit score for people to obtain a mortgage with either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- government sponsored enterprises -- is about 760. The Federal Housing Administration's average credit is 709. The average for credit in the U.S., however, is 700.

"As people of color, we traditionally don't have the same credit scores as the majority of America," Wilson said.

The housing market is important to the economy and national employment rate. In 2012, approximately 2.2 million Latinos worked in the construction industry, the sixth largest employer of Latinos. During the financial crisis, home foreclosures increased and construction of new houses eased resulting in many Latinos becoming unemployed.

According to the CRL, the housing market has since been in recovery. Despite the recovery period, Latinos have been reported to be a "crucial driver" of the U.S. home ownership demand. A Fannie Mae survey in 2013 revealed Latinos are more likely to own a home than the general population because "it makes more financial sense" and better to raise a family. For 2014, home values for Latino-owned households are expected to increase by 16.8 percent.

The housing market could get difficult for Latinos as the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Ranking Member Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, worked on a comprehensive housing finance reform legislation that could replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Known as the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation (FMIC), the National Council of State Housing Agencies referred to the reform as a "government agency that would provide catastrophic reinsurance for mortgage-backed securities."

According to the panelists, the current responsibilities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be transferred to private entities, such as banks. A study from The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University noted the bill by Johnson and Crapo could raise costs by 2 percent or higher for people with a FICO credit score between 650 and 750. In addition, the bill would let private entities to cover losses of at least 10 percent of the principal amount. The CRL noted the FMIC would not encourage affordable housing in the U.S., an aspect required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

According to Parks, the currently mortgage market is worth $7 trillion. Fukuda stated it is impossible for any oversight agency, even the FMIC, to monitor the dollar-by-dollar spending.

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