Buying a home has long been a way for immigrant groups to signal that they have “made it.” For Hispanic Americans, a mega-boom in homeownership is revving up.
With U.S. Census data reporting that more than half of all infants born in the United States last year were minorities or multiracial, with whites having 1.1 births for every death and Hispanics counting 8.9 births for every death, it stands to reason that the profile of home buyers is also undergoing a change that may accelerate in years to come. The folks at Movoto.com, a full service real estate brokerage based in San Mateo, CA, decided to figure out just how much.
Using data on the race/ethnicity of first time and repeat home buyers from the National Association of Realtor’s annual “Profile of Buyers and Sellers,” on its blog Movoto.com noted that whites accounted for about 85 percent of home purchases.
Last year, the other 15 percent of buyers included six percent Black/African-Americans, six percent Hispanic/Latino home buyers and four percent Asians or Pacific Islanders, with other ethnicities/races comprising up to two percent.
But among first time buyers, Movoto.com reported, Hispanics are enthusiastically angling for the American dream of a home to call their own. Predictions indicated that between now and 2020, Hispanics – the second largest ethnic group in America – will account for 50 percent of new buyers . Currently, 75 percent of first time buyers are white while Hispanic home buyers constitute 11 percent, a 38 percent increase over 2010 figures. And as their purchasing power increases, a “mega rise” may be on the way.
Over the last three decades, two of every five newcomers were Hispanic, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a 20,000 member group. The Hispanic population in the U.S. multiplied 3.5 times between 1980 and 2010. And with Hispanics expected to account for 40 percent of the estimated 12 million new households, they will become “an increasingly key market for homeownership,” according to the association’s “2011 State of Hispanic Homeownership” report. Minorities are expected to account for 70 percent of total growth.
In general, Hispanics hold fast to the American dream. According to national housing surveys, despite worries over jobs and the economy, they are more eager to become homeowners for both emotional and financial reasons.Though only 32 percent of all Americans consider owning a home a symbol of success, 56 percent of Hispanics believe that it is. Additionally, 68 percent of Hispanics versus 57 percent of all Americans are more likely to think purchasing a home is a sound economic decision. And 73 percent of Hispanics compared to 57 percent of all Americans feel that home ownership is a good path to building family wealth for future generations.
They may soon be blazing the way.
