Hispanic Homeownership Rate Increases Five Years in A Row

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Homeownership eluded the U.S. Hispanic population in the early 2000s until the middle 2010s. An article by Latin Post said that despite Hispanics' aspiration to homeownership, many lack the savings, down payment or credit to purchase a home.

Nonetheless, Hispanics struggle to gain ownership because they are not financial positioned to buy homes, according a 2015 report titled, "Hispanics & Home Ownership: Closing the Gap." Despite the figures, the report remained firm that the U.S. Hispanic demographic would be a key force behind home rental and purchasing activity in the years to come.

The report was right. Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and an upcoming report from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP®), a nonprofit 501(c)6 trade association dedicated to advancing sustainable homeownership among Latinos, says that the homeownership rate among Hispanics has increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2019, according to an article by Yahoo.

Hispanics continue to be the primary driver of growth in the nation's housing market. In fact, there were 277,000 new Hispanic homeowners in the U.S. in 2019, now accounting for more than 80% of the growth in the country's homeownership since 2009.

Hispanics continues to outpace other demographic groups in terms of growth in homeownership, household formations, and labor force participation, according to NAHREP's annual State of Hispanic Homeownership Report. Said report, which highlights the critical role Hispanics have played in the U.S. economy over the past decade and the importance of increased consumer and industry investment in the Hispanic housing market, is scheduled to be published in March 2020. This 10th anniversary edition will reportedly include a more extensive review of Hispanic purchasing patterns, buyer nuances and geographic concentrations.

The report reveals that, the Hispanic homeownership rate increased to 47.5 percent in 2019, the fifth consecutive yearly increase. The figures are way higher compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts who accounted for only 1.5 percent of homeownership growth over that same period.

Between 2009 and 2019, Hispanics accounted for 80.89 percent of net growth in U.S. homeownership. Despite the figures still hitting below the overall U.S. homeownership rate, Hispanics are the only demographic group to record a consistent increase for the past five years. Due to the growth, the overall number of Hispanic households in the U.S. has already hit 435,000 in 2019.

Factors which have played a significant role in this increase include population growth and labor force participation. Hispanics currently represent 18.3 percent of the U.S. population and is poised to increase up to 28.6 percent by 2060, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Latin Post.

Moreover, they account for the highest labor force participation rate compared to any other group in the U.S. at 66.8 percent over the last 10 years. Hispanics have also accounted for 71.31 percent of the growth in the U.S. labor force.

"The vibrancy of the Latino homebuyer population helped to pull our industry out of recession in 2012 and continues to drive growth in markets all across the United States," said David Acosta, 2020 NAHREP President. "This year's report will give the industry a more complete picture of Hispanic buyer nuances and geographic concentrations."