2022 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report

Celebrating NAHREP familia, cultura, politics, and grassroots action

March, 2023

This year’s State of Hispanic Homeownership Report tells a story. In addition to the data and research analyzing homeownership attainment among Latinos in the U.S., NAHREP commissioned photographer Adriel Salazar to capture images of real families that purchased a home in Houston, Texas last year. These photos capture a pivotal moment in time and humanize the Latino homeownership journey. NAHREP chose to feature families in Houston because the city was the third highest-ranking market that added the greatest number of new Latino homeowners over the last two years. Overall, Texas continues to be home to the nation’s top opportunity markets for new Latino homebuyers.

The report also features the unique perspective of 25 top producing buyers’ agents who were interviewed in our Top Real Estate Practitioner Study. In its second year of production, this study captures insights that go beyond what data can produce alone. These top producers closed 1,307 buyer-side transactions last year between them, and they were able to highlight Hispanic consumer nuances and provide insight into major factors that contributed to the Hispanic homeownership story.

The data shows that Latinos are the only demographic to see nearly a decade of consistent homeownership growth despite record-breaking affordability challenges. In 2022, Latinos add a net total of 349,000 homeowner households and formed 628,000 new households, both among the largest single-year gains for Latinos over the last ten years. That’s pretty incredible. Below are the top 10 takeaways from the report.

Top 10 Takeaways from 2022 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report

1. Latinos are the only demographic that saw nearly a decade of consistent homeownership growth. The Hispanic homeownership rate reached 48.6 percent in 2022, marking 8 years of steady homeownership growth.
2. Despite record-breaking affordability challenges, Latinos continue to increase their homeownership rate. In 2022, Latinos added a net total of 349,000 homeowner households, one of the largest single-year gains for Latinos in the last ten years.
3. Latinos are forming new households rapidly, a key precursor to homeownership. In 2022, Latinos formed 628,000 new households, the largest single-year gain in over a decade, the largest of any demographic group, and more than double that of non-Hispanic White households.
4. Latinos are young and buying houses younger. With a median age of 30, Latinos are eight years younger than the general population. They also trend younger as homeowners. Latinos have the highest share of homebuyers under the age of 25, and 70.6 percent Latinos who purchase a home with a mortgage in 2021 were under the age of 45.
5. Homeownership is the least affordable it’s ever been. In April of 2022, home price appreciation hit a new record high of 20.1 percent. At the same time, interest rates on the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage started to climb, reaching over 7 percent in October of 2022, the highest in 20 years. A rise in interest rates from 3 percent to 7 percent translates into a purchasing power loss of 30 percent. Due to a rise in interest rates, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Houston, Riverside, Chicago, and San Antonio MSAs saw an increase in monthly mortgage payments of at least 40 percent.
6. Latinos are more mortgage-ready than ever before. In 2022, there were 7.9 million Latinos aged 45 or under who have the credit characteristics to quality for a mortgage and 2.8 million who are near mortgage-ready. Latinos have the largest share of the near mortgage-ready population of any racial or ethnic group.
7. Despite affordability challenges, the rise in interest rates may benefit some first-time homebuyers. While the rise in interest rates compounded affordability issues, it also had a cooling effect on the market, greatly reducing competition. Nearly half, 11 out of 25 participants, in NAHREP Top Real Estate Practitioners Survey said their first-time buyers had a harder time getting their offers accepted in the first half of the 2022 market than in the second half.
8. Latinos will get creative in order to overcome affordability challenges, including living in multigenerational households and co-borrowing among family. Latinos are among the most likely demographic to live in a multigenerational household at 31.7 percent. In 2022, 7 out of 25 participants in NAHREP’s Top Real Estate Practitioners Study saw an increase in multigenerational buyers last year, while 19 out of 25 reported an increase in co-borrowing, particularly among family members.
9. The state of Texas offers the greatest opportunity for Latino homeownership. Texas has consistently topped the list for most Latino net migration, best opportunity markets, and producing the greatest number of new Latino homeowners. Between 2020 and 2022, Texas saw a net gain of nearly 150,000 Latino residents. Additionally, McAllen, Brownsville, and El Paso, Texas made up the top three opportunity markets for Latinos, based on the number of mortgage-ready Latinos and affordability. Overall, Houston, Texas was the third highest ranking market that added the greatest number of new Latino homeowners, adding a net total of nearly 60,000 of homeowner households in the last two years.
10. The increase in Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) could play a promising role in closing the non-Hispanic White and Latino homeownership gap. Recent legal clarity by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has encouraged more lenders to bring SPCPs to market, opening the door for new programs that could address common underwriting issues, such as debt-to-income ratios and non-W2 incomes, two factors that disproportionately impact the Latino community.

Read more about the State of Hispanic Homeownership Report here. Want to share the report with your elected officials? Click to share below.