Breaking Barriers to Hispanic Homeownership.

An 11-city focus group study conducted in traditional and emerging Hispanic regions found that while Latino consumers, like many Americans, want to own a home in a safe neighborhood and create intergenerational wealth for their children, current industry practices constitute barriers to them potentially doing so. The findings also revealed that unless certain institutional business practices are changed, the Hispanic homeownership rate (48 percent) will continue to lag significantly behind the population at large (68 percent) and the Latino consumer market may never be fully realized.

“From the consumer to the loan officer, we all share the burden of the Hispanic homeownership divide,” said Ron Jauregui, one of three senior housing professionals participating in the NHI two-year fellowship program. “However, our message to the industry is that to effectively reach the Hispanic consumer, corporate messages and innovative product development must be consistent to what happens on the front line. Without a sincere understanding of the Hispanic consumer’s experience and the trust factor that exists within it, neither the message nor the product will resonate.”

Three NHI Fellows including Jauregui, Alejandro Becerra and Rebecca Villalpando, presented the focus group findings maintaining, “at stake is the industry’s ability to fully tap its most emerging consumer market and Hispanics’ ability to realize the American dream of owning a home,” said Villalpando.

While the industry has recognized that Latinos are critical to the future of American homeownership and are taking steps to better serve them, such as hiring more bilingual staff and innovative product development, focus group findings illustrate a disconnect from the commitment “at the top” to the actual customer service many Hispanics in the low-to-moderate income category are receiving. The report stated “that many (loan officers) cannot take the time needed to ‘hold their hand’ through the process.”

According to the study, despite good faith efforts by the industry, the lack of special attention reinforces Hispanics’ fear and distrust of mainstream institutions due to predatory lending practices, pressures to purchase, complex home buying procedures and lack of flexible and quality loan products.

While “hand holding” may not be part of standard institutional practices, the findings state a new commitment to help Hispanics better understand the process may be what it takes to get more Latinos into homes.

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