THE
WASHINGTON
POST
.
SATURDAY,MAY
7, 2022
EZ
6
M
ore thanayear intothe pandemic, Fernando
Gomez and hiswife,Amber,beganlookingfor a
largerhome.Though remote work made commut-
ing to their jobs in D.C.athing of the past, it also
meant theywere spending theirdaysworking
fromasmall townhouse theysharedwith their
10-year-oldson in Stafford, Va., about45 miles south of the
District.
So the couple decidedto upgrade, and in Augustpurchaseda
four-bedroom,4,000-square-foot house withalargegarageand
finishedbasement in the sametown for $435,000.Theynow have
space for separatehome offices, aguestbedroomand enoughyard
space for their young sontoroam.
“During covid, we wereblessedthatitdidn’t impactour
employment,”saysGomez,38, whoworks for amortgagelender.
“But we werespending alot moretime at home so it became clear
we needed more space,”hesays.
Acrossthe UnitedStates, Latino homeownershipisexpanding
at arecord pace, withyoungerbuyers fueling much of the
increase,datashows.The rise is altering therealestatelandscape
in manypockets of the country and making this demographic a
growingforce in thesharply risinghousingmarket.
According to recently releaseddatabythe National Association
of HispanicReal Estate Professionals (NAHREP), theLatino
homeownershiprateincreasedto48.4percent in2021,upfrom
47.5 percentin 2019, thehighestlevel sincethe mid-2000s. (The
Black homeownership ratereached45.3percent in 2020,upfrom
42.1 percent in 2019, census data shows.)
“They’re cominginatthe fastestrateofany group we’reseeing,”
says TatianaBusch,arealestatebroker for Re/Max Gatewayin
Chantilly, Va., whoassisted theGomezfamilyinfinding theirnew
property.“We’veseenincreasesin Latinobuyersfor thepast
coupleof years,but it accelerated during the pandemicand even
in atight market it hasn’t reallysloweddown.”Biggainsin the South
NAHREPused CensusBureau data to compile its annual State
of Hispanic Homeownership Report.ItshowsthatLatinos added
atotalof657,000 newownerhouseholdsbetween2019and 2021,
withthe number of Hispanic homeowners reaching 8.8 million.
ThehousingmarketsofRiverside/SanBernardino, Calif.;
Greater NewYorkCity; andOrlandosawthe greatestincreasein
Hispanic homeownersin 2021,collectively addingmore than
230,000 newHispanic owner households, according to NAHREP.
Despitethe risingnumbers, the trade groupsaysmarket
conditions were tough for Latinos, especiallyfor first-time home
buyersinareaswithhousinginventoryand affordability challeng-
es suchasArizona, Florida and Texas.
TheNAHREP report highlights several placeswherearising
population of younger,mortgage-ready Latinos could push
homeownershipgrowth higherthisyear,includingLasCruces,
N.M.; Memphis; Cleveland; andseveral southern Texascities.
“ManyLatinos werealreadyconsideringhomeownership
before the pandemic,” says Gary Acosta, NAHREP’schiefexecu-
tive. He points to NAHREP data showingthatsince 2014 Latinos
have addedatotalof1.9 million net newowner households.
“The numberssuggest the wheels were already in motion for
this kind of growth, but it’s simplyexpandingnow,” Acosta says.
Andthatexpansion isset to continue.
TheUrban Institute projectsthatby2040, 70 percent of the net
newhomeownerhouseholds in the UnitedStates will be Latino.
Thegroup projects thatBlack and Whitehomeownership rates
will decline duringthatsameperiod.
Andwhile Hispanicsmakeupabout 18 percent of the country’s
population, theyaccounted for morethanhalf of the country’s
homeownership growthin the decadeleadinguptothe pandemic,
Urban Institute researchshows.
Latinobuyingpowerwilllikelyonlygrow becausetheir
population skewsmuch younger thanotherracial andethnic
groups,saysJun Zhu, an assistantprofessor in the finance
departmentatIndiana UniversityatBloomington and anonresi-
dentfellowwiththe Urban Institute.
Hispanics in the United States hadamedian ageof30in2019,
roughly 15 years younger thanthemedian agefor non-Hispanic
White Americans,according to PewResearch Center.
“This demographic is enteringtheir early 30snow and that’s the
most typical years for manyfirst-timehome buyers,”Zhu says. “So
we should expectHispanicsto continue being astronginfluence
on the housing market for yearsto come.”
Theexpanding reachofHispanic homebuyerscomes amidoneCOVERSTORY
Rising Latino
homeownership
rates alter the
housing market
Demographic’sinfluenceis growing
but first-timebuyersstill face challengesBYTROYMCMULLEN