Being a home owner is something that is pictured as part of the American Dream. 2023 was a Challenging year for the real estate market, there was high interest rates and tight inventories. In combination with limited affordable housing options, these high interest rates made it difficult for many Hispanic buyers to qualify for mortgages and find homes that met their needs. These market trends led to uncertainty and confusion among buyers and created anxiety around the homebuying process and the best time to buy. Despite these challenges, Latinos persisted in finding innovative ways to turn dreams of homeownership into reality, growing their homeownership rate more significantly than any other racial or ethnic group last year.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey (2023)
Hispanic Homeownership Rate Nears 50 Percent
In 2023, the Hispanic homeownership rate reached 49.5 percent, with a net gain of 377,000 Hispanic owner-households from the year prior. Today, over 9.5 million Hispanic households own their own home. The remarkable growth of Hispanic homeownership has been a consistent trend, as the Hispanic homeownership rate has risen steadily for nearly a decade, despite experiencing some of the toughest housing market years.
LATINOS ARE DRIVING HOUSEHOLD FORMATION GROWTH
Latinos are rapidly forming new households, a key precursor to homeownership. In 2023 alone, Latinos saw a net gain of 450,000 new households and were responsible for a quarter (25.5 percent) of overall U.S. household formation growth. As young Latinos age out of their parents' homes and form new households, the total number of Latino households is expected to increase. Today, nearly a third (29.5 percent) of Latinos are under the age of 18, with 2.2 million turning 18 within the next two years alone.
LATINOS ARE YOUNG
With a median age of 30.7, Latinos are the youngest racial or ethnic demographic in the U.S, more than ten years younger than non-Hispanics (median age 41.1). Latinos make up a disproportionately large segment of the overall youth population. Today, one in four children under the age of 18 is Hispanic (26.0 percent), and more than two-thirds of Latinos are Millennials or younger.
INTEREST RATES WERE A KEY BARRIER TO HOMEOWNERSHIP IN 2023
In October of 2023, the average 30-year fixed interest rate reached a high of 7.79 percent, the highest weekly average 30-year fixed rate since the year 2000. While borrowing and savings rates have risen across the board, mortgage rates have seen an unusually large hike relative to other securities. In fact, mortgage rates have climbed faster in 18 months than the Federal Reserve’s rate increases by a factor of about 3-10 bps for most loans. The rapid rise in interest rates following the historic lows seen during the COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on prospective Hispanic homebuyers, making qualification more difficult and increasing mortgage payments. While rising interest rates affected all homebuyers, this impact was more pronounced among Hispanic households, many of whom are first time buyers with lower median incomes and who live in higher priced markets.
HOME PRICE APPRECIATION SLOWS BUT STILL UNAFFORADABLE
Interest rates had a much-needed cooling effect on home price appreciation in 2023. According to CoreLogic’s National Home Price index, home price appreciation slowed dramatically. Year-over-year home price appreciation hit record highs in 2022, reaching a peak in April of 2022 when prices were up 19.5 percent from the year prior. However, rising interest rates have tempered increasing home prices. In April of 2023, home prices were up only 2.3 percent compared to the previous year. Yet, despite a slowdown in appreciation, an increasingly smaller share of homes on the market are considered affordable. According to national listing data calculated by Realtor.com®, the largest share of homes for sale were under $200,000 in 2016. In 2023, homes priced under $200,000 made up only 13.8 percent of homes on the market. The largest share of homes on the market was listed at $500,000 or more.
HIGH INTEREST RATES DISCOURAGED SALE OF EXISTING HOMES
The share of inventory available for purchase remains at crisis levels. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies, the number of available homes for purchase has been constrained by decades of slowdown in single-family housing construction. Although 2023 saw a slight increase in existing homes available for purchase, the inventory overall is still 42 percent lower than it was in 2019, when inventory was already struggling. Increased interest rates also impacted affordability by limiting inventory. Many families who may have decided to sell their homes chose not to because their current rate – acquired either through purchase or refinancing during the lower rate period – was simply too good to give up.
LATINOS ARE WILLING TO MOVE TO LOWER-COST AREAS
In the face of affordability challenges, many Hispanic homebuyers have set their sights on more affordable locations. Agents in NAHREP’s practitioner interviews described the willingness of Hispanic buyers to relocate from higher cost markets into other areas (e.g., from California and Florida to Colorado and Texas, from the Washington, D.C. metro area to the Carolinas, and from New York City to New Jersey). The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to encourage this trend. The desire for more space and greater affordability encouraged buyers to adopt a wider radius, even across state lines, in their homebuying search.
THE CO-SIGNER ERA: A LARGER SHARE OF LATINOS TAKE ON CO-BORROWERS
In a high price and high interest rate environment, co-borrowers are becoming increasingly more common. Agents in NAHREP’s practitioner interviews spoke of a noticeable increase in the share of buyers requiring a co-borrower compared to years prior. Co-occupant, co-borrowers are more common in places where homes can be adapted to comprise multiple living spaces. In other cases, family members or friends agreed to serve as a co-signer for a buyer with the intention of coming off the loan at some point in the future. These sorts of arrangements were particularly advantageous in 2023, given the increased difficulty of qualifying due to higher interest rates.
BUYER'S AGENTS HELP IDENTIFY LOCAL FINANCIAL INCENTIVES AND PROGRAMS
Homebuilders, state and local governments, and financial institutions offer several programs to lessen the financial burdens of a home purchase, particularly for first-time buyers. Agents in NAHREP’s practitioner study mentioned homebuilders in their market providing incentives, including substantial rate buydowns. Additionally, state and local governments and financial institutions offer a multitude of down payment assistance programs. Buyer’s agents play a particularly important role in supporting homebuyers to identify local programs that help make homeownership more affordable, both in the short-term, by reducing the amount of cash buyers need to make a purchase, and in the long-term, by reducing mortgage amounts through increased down payments.
CONCLUSION
Despite ongoing affordability and inventory crises and the highest interest rates in recent years, Latinos continue to purchase homes at rates surpassing all other racial or ethnic groups. Fortunately, high interest rates also meant more limited competition in some markets, resulting in increased negotiating power for buyers. In these cases, and many others, guidance from competent buyer's agents proved crucial for Hispanic homebuyers navigating the market in 2023. Agents assisted buyers in understanding the best mortgage options in the context of the high rate environment, including FHA and ITIN loans, and advised buyers on the financial programs and incentives for which they may be eligible. Migration to lower cost areas and the use of co-borrowers were also more common in 2023, and both of these tactics speak to the commitment of Latinos in achieving homeownership and investing in their financial future.
Contact us at Javier@Goldbellre.com (Hablo Español)
Interest Rates as of 3/8/24
30-year fixed | 7.032% |
15-year fixed | 6.635% |
30-year fixed FHA | 6.987% |
30-year fixed VA | 6.98% |
30-year fixed USDA | 7.186% |
Source taken from "NAREP 2023 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report", March 25, 2024.
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