Hispanic homeownership is on the rise
MIAMI - Hispanic homeownership is on the rise and a report from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals finds this group is more mortgage-ready than ever before.
Alan Regalado decided to buy a home for his growing family after their landlord raised the rent on their two-bedroom Miami apartment.
"We started off with rent at $2,800 a month and by the time they wanted to renew our contract for another year, 14 months, they wanted to bring it up to $3,500," said Regalado.
Despite high interest rates, Regalado purchased a home outside the city achieving a generations-long goal.
"To be able to come to this country for our parents, grandparents, to continue to provide for our family and have that stability," he said.
Regalado is part of a growing trend.
According to the Urban Institute, during the pandemic both Black and Latino homeownership increased more than white homeownership.
"When you look at the Hispanic population it is a very, very young group, so you've got so many more people aging into their prime homeownership years," said Laurie Goodman who leads the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center.
Another factor driving the increase, Hispanics are more likely to live in multi-generational households and pool their resources for more purchasing power.
"You have mom and dad on the mortgage, but you might have a 20-year-old son and grandma contributing to that mortgage payment," Goodman said.
That's a strategy Melissa Hoff, Regalado's realtor, has seen with her clients.
"They're willing to do what it takes in order to have what they want and not to continue renting," she said.
Regalado says for him, purchasing a home was buying a piece of the American dream.