Increase In Mortage-Based Credit Products In Hispanic HHs.

In line with the significant, and continued, growth of the Hispanic middle class population, two particular mortgage-based credit products – home equity loans and home equity lines of credit – have also showed a significant upswing among this segment, jumping 35 percent and 25 percent respectively from 2003 to 2004, according to an analysis of data from the Integras Market Audit.

Integras is the advanced analytical services division of market research leader Claritas Inc. and the administrator of the Market Audit – a comprehensive survey of household financial behavior. Data for this analysis was developed from over 175, 000 interviews comparing the percentage of equity product penetration, year-to-year, ending Q4, 2004.

The analysis found that 10.1 percent of Hispanic homeowners with incomes ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 took out a home equity loan in 2004 compared to 7.5 percent in 2003, and 12.7 percent applied for home equity lines of credit in 2004 compared to 10.2 percent the previous year.

“The data showed that the greatest gains within the Hispanic population (from one year to the next) in both credit products was in the Hispanic middle class, which is the largest growing population segment in the U.S.,” said Julie Simard, an Integras Customer Research Consultant, who conducted the analysis.

For affluent Hispanic homeowners with incomes of $100,000-plus, the household penetration levels for loans was 12.5 percent and 19.7 percent for lines of credit.

Comparing all homeowners to Hispanic homeowners, the 2004 numbers for home equity loans were virtually the same at 8.9 percent and 8.8 percent respectively. However, for lines of credit there was a comparative gap at 16.8 percent for all homeowners and 11.7 percent for Hispanic homeowners.

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