Big Gap In Latino Home Ownership: New Study

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Nearly four million Latinos would like to be home owners in the next five years, but only 1.5 million can afford it, according to a new study by The Demand Institute, a non-profit think tank operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. The study found a gap of 2.5 million Latinos who struggle to be able to achieve home ownership; less than one-in-five who would like to purchase a home have the access and the means to do so.

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“The gap is an opportunity for business and policy makers to help these households come up with new models on how we finance housing and find ways to help Latinos to be able to afford to buy homes,” said Louise Keely, president of The Demand Institute, who spoke to NBC News about the report.

“Hispanics were hit especially hard by the housing crisis,” Keely said, “partly because of geographics, since most homeowners were concentrated in states that were most affected like California and Arizona and because they came from a lower baseline median income level.”

Latino home ownership rates peaked at 50 percent in 2007, but even years after the housing bust it stands at 44 percent, according to the US Census. {snip}

The multi-year study includes an on-line survey of 1,000 Latino heads of households in 2013. More than 52 percent of those polled wanted to own a home and thought it was a good investment, but 31 percent said the lack of savings was the main barrier, followed by low income and access to credit.

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