Latino households playing greater role in housing picture

The Latino population is becoming a growing force in the housing market with the demographic’s purchasing power more than doubling over the past decade, according to a new report by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals called “The State of Hispanic Home Ownership 2011.”

The purchasing power of Latinos grew to $1.1 trillion in 2011 and is projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2016, according to NAHREP.

New household growth is projected to be greater for the Hispanic population than any other demographic, said David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Banker’s Association.

Rapid population growth (the Hispanic population more than tripled between 1980 and 2010), the population’s relatively young age, dramatic employment growth, and growing incomes are all triggering a higher rate of Hispanic home buyers, according to NAHREP.

Fifty-three percent of the total U.S. population’s 545,000 new owner-occupants in the third quarter of 2011 were Hispanic home owners, according to Census Bureau data.

What’s more, about two-thirds of Hispanic renters have said they plan to purchase a home, according to a 2011 Fannie Mae survey.