PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Over the next 20 years, the Hispanic population is expected to dominate the housing market, making up more than half of all net new households in the country.
Catherine Cuervo lives in Pinellas County. She's a first-time home-buyer who decided to bite the bullet and purchase a home.
“I bought a house about two years ago," Cuervo said.
Cuervo was born in St. Petersburg, but both of her parents are from Bogota, Columbia.
She falls in line with the Urban Institute’s study, which estimates that 70% of new homeowners in the next 20 years will come from the Hispanic community. While Hispanics are predicted to dramatically drive the housing market, the Urban Insitute forecasts them as the engine behind economic growth.
“Latinos right now represent an annual purchasing power of about $1.7 trillion. If that were to be phased and put into a worldwide economy, it would become one of the top economies, one of the top 10 economies in the world," Luis Padilla, the President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, said.
Padilla told ABC Action News that there are 8.3 million mortgage-ready Hispanics who don’t currently have a mortgage, and a large portion of the potential buyers reside in states like Florida.
“Those mortgage-ready buyers are, their biggest challenge is, purchasing power. The lack of inventory makes for a very competitive environment," Padilla added.
Meanwhile, the association reports that Latino home-buyers were 81% more likely to be denied a conventional loan than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Thus, making them more likely to use risky home financing.
“I think there's lack of knowledge as far as how to start. If you don't have a good, you know, family or support team or people that can kind of lead you, it can be very difficult because I had no idea," Cuervo explained.
As the number of Hispanic households is expected to skyrocket from now until 2040, Cuervo suggests doing your research before making the big purchase.
“The fact that I was able to do this on my own without anyone, you know supporting me financially, I think was huge for myself. Like it makes me very proud and my family proud and hopefully paves the way for other people and people to look up to, you know, individuals like myself that were able to do it on our own; That you know, it's possible in our community and that nothing's going to stop us and it doesn't matter where we're from," Cuervo explained.
