Saying this has been a rough couple of years politically is an understatement – yet despite that Hispanic consumer optimism continues to grow about their financial situation.
Over the past few years, some Hispanics have been at odds with the administration as President Donald Trump has attempted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and used an emergency declaration to gain funding to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
And while the president’s rhetoric has been against undocumented immigrants, his actions have garnered him a low approval rating among Hispanics.
And while it is perfectly legal for DACA recipients to buy a home, many have held back amid the uncertainty.
However, consumer confidence among Hispanics in the U.S. improved in the fourth quarter of 2018 as their optimism in their financial situation and their economic outlook for the U.S. grew, according to a new index from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative in FAU’s College of Business.
The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index, taken from October to December 2018, increased nearly five points from the third quarter to 98.5 in the fourth quarter.
Overall, 71% of Hispanics said they are financially better off today than a year ago, up nine points from the third quarter of 2018, the report showed.
Positive economic conditions have also helped Trump’s approval rating among Hispanics, which improved from 37% to 40% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
And amid this increase in optimism, the Hispanic homeownership rate continues to rise year-over-year.
The most recent homeownership report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the Hispanic homeownership rate is rising, and has increased each year for the past three years. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Hispanic homeownership increased to 46.9%, up from 46.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017.
In fact, the latest State of Hispanic Homeownership report from the Hispanic Wealth Project and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals showed the Hispanic homeownership rate accounted for 46.5% of the net U.S. homeownership gains since 2000, and was the only demographic to have increased their homeownership rate over the past three consecutive years.
