New Report Finds Significant Hispanic Home Ownership Gap

- Hispanics will account for nearly four out of every 10 new households formed between now and 2020 - more than any other racial or ethnic group.

- They overwhelmingly aspire to home ownership, but more often than not lack the savings, down payment or credit to purchase a home.

- More Hispanics are moving to the suburbs in search of more space, better schools and more affordable housing.

News provided by

The Conference Board

May 28, 2015, 01:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Between now and 2020, roughly four out of every 10 new households that form in the U.S. will be headed by someone of Hispanic descent – more than any other single racial or ethnic group. The Hispanic demographic will be a key driver of home rental and purchasing activity in the next several years, and this will have important implications for the housing sector. Hispanics aspire to home ownership, and the majority of Hispanic movers want to purchase when they move. But a new report from The Demand Institute finds that there is significant business opportunity in meeting the housing and community demand of Hispanic households in the next five years.

Hispanics & Home Ownership: Closing the Gap is the latest publication from The Demand Institute, a non-advocacy, non-profit think tank jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. The report finds that nearly four million Hispanics would like to purchase a home when they move, but only 1.5 million are financially prepared to do so – a gap of 2.5 million households that will struggle to attain the goal of home ownership because they lack the down payment, income or credit to follow through on their plans.

"Hispanics were hit especially hard by the financial crisis and housing crash, and the outlook for home ownership is uncertain," said Louise Keely, president of The Demand Institute. "The home ownership rate among Hispanic households now stands at 44 percent and continues to decline. Still, Hispanics are a large and fast growing segment of the housing market, and their distinct demand for communities and housing could stimulate innovation for a wide range of businesses, including financial services."

In 2007, the Hispanic home ownership rate peaked at nearly 50 percent but has been in decline ever since. "Hispanics are one of the fastest-growing demographics, and their prospects for home ownership and what they will seek from communities in a lot of ways reflect the outlook for the entire country," continued Keely.

The report also finds that more Hispanics are moving to the suburbs, even though Hispanics are still more likely than non-Hispanics to live in urban areas. "Hispanic households are still most likely to be family households," said Jeremy Burbank, who is a vice president at The Demand Institute and leads the American Communities Demand Shifts Program. "Hispanics are moving to the suburbs for more space, better schools and more affordable housing – they're looking for places to raise their families," said Burbank.

Hispanics & Home Ownership: Closing the Gap is the first report from The Demand Institute's American Communities Demand Shifts Program, which provides insight on the future of American communities, including the ever-evolving housing sector. The program is an extension of more than four years of in-depth research conducted by The Demand Institute, and will help business leaders and policymakers better anticipate and address the needs of consumers and citizens.

A subscription program is available for an annual fee, and offers access to invaluable perspectives on the drivers of consumer demand through research briefs, in-depth reports, online data visualization tools and engagement with the research team via webcasts, among other benefits. A collaborative effort, members also have an opportunity to help shape the research agenda. For more information about the program, please visit: http://demandinstitute.org/projects/american-communities/

About The Demand Institute
The Demand Institute illuminates how consumer demand is evolving around the world. We help government and business leaders align investments to where consumer demand is headed across industries, countries and markets. A non-advocacy, non-profit organization and a division of The Conference Board, The Demand Institute holds 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States and is jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. For more information, please visit demandinstitute.org.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States. For more information, visit conference-board.org.

About Nielsen
Nielsen N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers Watch and Buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services across all devices where content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen provides its clients with both world-class measurement as well as analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries that cover more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

SOURCE The Conference Board