Op-ed:Offer More Housing Options for Latinos

Patricia Lindo, the president of the National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates (NHORA), a non-profit trade organization responds to Patch's article "Report Gives 'D' Grade for Affordable Housing for Latinos."

The Latino population, at nearly one quarter of the San Mateo County population, is the fastest growing demographic group in the county and is estimated to be the state’s largest population group within the next 30 years. The largest population group has specific housing and quality of life needs, and it is critical that those needs be addressed in long range planning and policy decisions.

While the county continues to offer jobs, it is currently far off track from offering enough diverse housing to accommodate the range of income levels living and working in San Mateo County. In fact, in a recently released study, “The Silicon Valley Latino Report Card,” developed by the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, housing for Latinos received a “D” grade due to the housing quality, crowding, and affordability issues. Experts predict the lack of adequate housing will create major quality of life issues for the Latino population in San Mateo County as well as the Silicon Valley community at-large.

We need the support of our entire community – business, civic, labor and community leaders – in order to succeed in our mission to improve the quality of life for Latinos and sustain the prosperity of this county. This call to action is a win-win strategy for Latinos and non-Latinos alike. Together we need to:

Collaborate with public and private sector parties to develop or make available more affordable housing options
Advocate for housing policies, projects and opportunities that benefit the Latino community
Implement sustainable ownership measures, including financial and mortgage education for new homeowners
Last week at the Latino Bay Area Housing Report, held in Redwood City, a broad range of Bay Area housing leaders called on the Latino community and the county as a whole to take the steps necessary to help solve the housing problems. There is a huge opportunity for the greater community to join our efforts and to contribute the time and resources necessary to succeed in this effort. Education and awareness is key to mobilizing our supporters in every community. But, time is of the essence.

At the luncheon, we heard from housing experts about their minority group-focused sustainable housing programs and financial literacy education. A few of the speakers also mentioned opportunities that need serious consideration in San Mateo County, including the Baylands project in Brisbane, which includes several hundred flat and townhomes, and the Redwood City Saltworks project, which proposes up to 12,000 homes, 15% below market rate. Both projects offer considerable community and environmental benefits. It is critical for the Latino community to get involved in these projects and others and to advocate for housing product types, below market rate housing, and community benefits that benefit Latinos.

Change is possible if we act now. Commitment from our public and private sector is necessary to improve the fate of our Latino community and San Mateo County – but most importantly we need all community members to get involved. There are many ways to do so: sign up for an Engagement Circle, part of Phase II of the “Silicon Valley Latino Report Card”, www.hfsv.org; join NHORA to learn more about opportunities specifically in San Mateo County; join the Housing Leadership Council; and, go to city websites to learn about specific projects and how to participate, including the City of Redwood City, Brisbane and other cities on the Peninsula.

NHORA’s next forum will focus on education and will be held in September. Like our housing forum the next forum will be a call to action for Latinos and the greater community. I hope you will join us.

Do you believe Latinos have enough affordable housing options? Tell us in the comments.

Lending to blacks, Hispanics plummets during housing crisis By Kenneth J. Cooper

Since the housing market collapsed, mortgage lending to African Americans and Hispanics has plunged precipitously — by more than 60 percent, according to a new study of loan information that banks submit to the federal government.

Together, African Americans and Hispanics were able to borrow 62 percent less to buy or refinance homes in 2009 than in 2004, before the market crashed, the computerized analysis finds. With lenders imposing tighter credit standards, mortgage dollars going to non-Hispanic white borrowers also declined, though by considerably less: 17 percent. Asians fared best, obtaining nearly an equal amount in mort­gages.
The study, using Federal Reserve data, was conducted by Maurice Jourdain-Earl, founder and managing director of ComplianceTech in Arlington, Va., which advises financial institutions on fair lending practices.

Mortgages made to Hispanics have decreased the most, by 63 percent, to $78 million in 2009 from $214 million in 2004. Lending to African Americans has dropped to $49 million from $122 million, or 60 percent.

Whites have been affected much less and Asians barely. New mortgages to white borrowers declined to $1.1 billion from $1.3 billion, or 17 percent. Lending to Asians stayed almost the same.

Whites were about twice as likely as African Americans and Hispanics to be approved for prime mortgages with the lowest interest rates, while members of the two largest minority groups were two to four times more likely to receive subprime loans, which have higher rates. By contrast, the disparities were much narrower for loans insured by the government’s Federal Housing Administration, which has attracted a growing number of borrowers during the credit crunch.

The study concluded that a “dual mortgage market” has emerged, with white and Asian borrowers having better access to lower-cost mortgages than African Americans and Hispanics, who on average pay more to own or refinance a home — if they can obtain a mortgage.
“The higher cost for mortgage credit translates into less money for basic necessities,” Jourdain-Earl writes. Read the rest of the article here.

Carmen Mercado Named Chairman of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Carmen Mercado, a Long Island, New York-based Education & Diversity Manager with NRT’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, was installed as chairman and president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals during its policy forum last week in Washington, D.C. Mercado has served on the association’s national board since 2006 and most recently was vice chair. Gerardo “Jerry” Ascencio, a Los Angeles-based real estate broker, will succeed Mercado as vice chair. Both officers will serve a one-year term in their post.

“Carmen Mercado and Jerry Ascencio bring a potent combination of real marketplace knowledge, leadership and understanding of the challenges that Hispanic homebuyers and practitioners encounter,” said immediate Past Chair Alex Chaparro. “Their grasp of the issues will be a huge benefit to NAHREP’s national leadership team.”

By day, Mercado trains real estate agents and drives leadership development for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which is owned by NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. Mercado is also an active member of the Realogy Diversity and Inclusion Council. She is a certified real estate instructor and delivers training programs throughout the Long Island and Queens area. She became active in NAHREP at the local level in 2004 when she founded the local NYC affiliate chapter. In 2006, she was appointed to the national board and has served on the executive committee prior to being named last year as vice chair. A passionate advocate for underserved homebuyers, she has helped educate local Latinos about homeownership over the years by delivering seminars in liaison with local nonprofits.

Gerardo “Jerry” Ascencio, GRI, CRS is founder and past president of the NAHREP San Fernando/Santa Clarita affiliate chapter and a member of the association’s national board. He is an established real estate broker in the greater Los Angeles area with two offices and 65 agents and broker-associates. Ascencio served on the board of directors for the Southland Regional Association of Realtors and has served in numerous leadership and educator roles. He will succeed Mercado as chairman in 2012.

About NAHREP

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a non-profit 501c6 trade association, is dedicated to increasing the homeownership rate among Latinos by educating and empowering the real estate professionals that serve them. Based in San Diego, NAHREP is the premier trade organization for Hispanics and has more than 18,000 members in 48 states and 50 affiliate chapters.

Contacts

Phase Two Communications
Mary Mancera, 760-634-5007

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110309005130/en/Carmen-Mercado-Named-Chairman-National-Association-Hispanic

Miami: el mercado más atractivo para la compra de una vivienda

Existe alguna ventaja en tener una enorme tasa de ejecuciones hipotecarias, un desempleo de dobles dígitos y un mercado de crédito muy limitado. De acuerdo con una respetada firma inmobiliaria, estos elementos ayudan a hacer de Miami el principal mercado en la nación para comprar una casa en vez de rentarla.

Miami ha subido dos lugaress desde el año pasado para convertirse en el mercado más atractivo de la nación para hacerse propietario, en vez de rentar, encontró un nuevo informe de la firma inmobiliaria Trulia. El estudio, dado a conocer el lunes, comparó los precios de las casas y las tasas de rentas en las mayores 50 ciudades del país para determinar dónde el ser propietario tiene un mayor sentido financiero.

Los compradores potenciales comienzan a darse cuenta de la dinámica cambiante de la Florida en compra vs. renta. Arden Shank, director de Servicios de Viviendas de Vecindarios del Sur de la Florida, dijo que los compradores por primera vez de los condados de Broward y Miami-Dade inundan su oficina.

``Tenemos más familias que vienen al proceso de preparación de compradores de viviendas que los que nunca hemos tenido'', destacó Shank. ``Muchas personas que fueron sacadas antes del mercado debido a los precios, pueden ahora disponer del dinero para comprar una casa''.


Read more: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2011/01/25/874698/miami-el-mercado-mas-atractivo.html#ixzz1C399Xv5E

Para consejos de como comprar una casa en Miami, visite RealEstateLatino.com

Nextage Realty International, LLC to Convert Casa Latino Real Estate Offices

JOHNS CREEK, Ga., Jan. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nextage Realty International, LLC, one of the fastest growing franchises in the US, has announced that it will be converting the majority share of offices of the well-know and highly respected Casa Latino franchise to its Nextage Realty brand. Casa Latino was created in 2005 based upon the premise that Hispanic home buyers and sellers have unique needs due to cultural differences and lifestyles. Casa Latino currently has offices in 13 states. Details as to which offices will convert to the Nextage brand are still in discussion.

Robb Heering, founder of Casa Latino Franchise Corporation states, "Although we will still be serving our specialized and targeted Hispanic market, the Nextage Realty system allows for broader opportunity for our franchisees as well as allowing us to continue providing superior service to our multicultural clients. Nextage and Casa Latino have much in common in our business strategy and priorities, our consumer-centric focus and our vision for the future. It's a logical next step for us to combine efforts. This is by no means the dissolution of our brand, but rather the evolution to our future."

Heering will join Nextage Realty International, LLC as Vice President of Diverse Markets, initially focusing on the Casa Latino office conversions, agent training and coaching. "The future of real estate is about the power of 'We' and I am confident that we will share much success and satisfaction working together and building our new brand across the nation and, eventually, internationally."

Franchisee Thomas Mestas, with offices in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, New Mexico and one of the very first Casa Latino franchise owners, is looking forward to the transition. "We are very excited about joining the Nextage Realty family and about being able to provide all of our agents the same opportunity that we have as owners. With the Nextage model, we anticipate systematic growth of our business in terms of locations, agents and transaction sides throughout the next several years. We have just begun the process of presenting the opportunity to agents in the community and the response has been tremendous."

The office conversions will begin in January 2011. Currently, Nextage Realty International has almost 60 offices across the nation. Nextage Realty debuted their brand at the National Association of Realtors Convention in New Orleans in November and has achieved remarkable success, taking the industry by storm in the two years it has been in operation. Co-Founders, Frank Cluck and Dave Wild, industry veterans and visionaries, are behind the evolutionary business model that has gained wide-spread attention and respect in the industry.

For more information, visit: http://www.NextageAdvantage.com.

About Nextage® Realty International, LLC

Nextage Realty International, LLC is a consumer-centric company that helps brokers and agents overcome today's major, marketplace challenges by creating a unique team environment where everyone works toward one common goal. It's about BUILDING a business, not just DOING business™ while providing the absolute highest level of client service. With an evolutionary business model and the most innovative compensation plan in the industry, Nextage Realty is setting the new standard and leading the industry into its "Next Age".
SOURCE Nextage Realty International, LLC

Looking for a better way to target the Latino market? Visit, RealEstateLatino.net

A New National Multi-Cultural Real Estate Franchise Formally Announces its Launch

OneRes, a multi-cultural independent real estate franchise organization based in Celebration, Florida, officially announces its launch at the National Association of Realtors in New Orleans, LA this week.

Celebration, FL (PRWEB) November 7, 2010

OneRes, a multi-cultural independent real estate franchise organization based in Celebration, Florida, officially announces its launch at the National Association of Realtors in New Orleans, LA this week. OneRes was founded by former real estate franchisees, former Fortune 500 company executives, residential and commercial developers.

OneRes leadership consists of African American, Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian ethnicities and represents the diversity of America. Corporate Directors are Eric Waddell, President/CEO, Edie Waddell, VP of Franchise Relations, Joe La Rosa, Chief Executive Consultant, Mike La Rosa, VP of Business Development, Ana Alvarez, VP of Recruiting and Carmen Chong, VP of Education.

From Celebration, Florida, Eric Waddell, President and CEO of OneRes said, “The Company was formed because there is a definite need for small to medium sized real estate brokerages to have affordable access to business support in the areas of education, training and technology.

The current economic conditions and the real estate and financial market collapse had a greater impact on small to medium size real estate brokerages, driving income down and many out of business causing a call to action and thus OneRes was created.” With a focus on providing education, training, and collaborating with franchisees on community outreach initiatives, the OneRes brand is a proponent of interconnecting awareness and effectively servicing outreach initiatives that have an immediate impact on improving our communities. OneRes expects a high level of growth within the next 12 months.

OneRes currently has branch locations in Texas, California, New York and Florida and intends to begin franchising new locations in November and December with a nationwide rollout in January 2011.

For more information or to schedule an interview with the principles of OneRes, please contact Edie Waddell at 407-566-2689.
# # #

Why when we are talking about Foreclosure and how it hurts Minorities, Race is always a factor ignoring the real problem?

By Bill Arce (RealEstateLatino.com)
Study: Latino ‘foreclosure generation’ devastated

The Orange County Register has this article featuring a study conducted by NCLR reporting how minority (especially Latinos) are being disproportionally hurt by the housing crisis mainly, foreclosures.

The study shows some interesting findings, statistics and makes recommendations:

Researchers interviewed 25 families in foreclosure, many victims of “predatory lending,” according to the study’s authors.

Among their findings:

•The loss of a job and a hike in mortgage payments most often led to losing the home. The families interviewed lost an average of $89,155 because of the foreclosure.

•Despite going to their lenders for help, none of the families were offered a loan modification, forbearance or other help.

•More than half of the families reported that their children had academic or behavioral problems in school because of the instability in the home. Researchers have dubbed these families “the foreclosure generation.”

•All but one family was left without savings they could tap in case of a financial emergency, and many held back on necessary health care to save money.

The study advocates loan modifications that include a principal reduction and a strengthening of the safety net, including allowing foreclosed families to stay in their homes as renters and a program of community based, nonprofit financial counseling.

Now, what really stroke me about this article was the responds some of the readers had. I liked to think some of these readers were showing signs of frustration due to the fact they are losing their homes to foreclosure, other may feel their race is underrepresented, or simple it seams that they are losing their share of “HOPE” and might be left out of any help available. Whether the case may be, I think it is incorrect to assume that minorities’ homeowners are getting more assistance than others just because we are considered a minority, when it is true that the mortgage crisis is hurting more Latinos and African American than anybody else.

The sad part will be when we get out of this mess and we realized we didn’t learn anything from it.

Latinos Still Passionate about Homeownership

RISMEDIA, October 27, 2009—Fifty-four percent of Latinos that participated in a phone survey conducted on behalf of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), expressed a strong interest in homeownership and plan to buy a home in the next five years.

The poll was conducted among Latino renters living in the foreclosure-ravaged markets of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix and coincides with a national survey of Hispanic real estate professionals announced during its annual member convention in Las Vegas. The survey findings reinforce what many of the 16,000-member Hispanic trade group’s members report – a strong consumer interest that could further fortify the first-time homebuyer market.

“Despite the losses that many families suffered in the mortgage crisis, there remains high interest in homeownership among those families that stayed on the sidelines and didn’t buy during the boom,” says Tino Diaz, chairman of NAHREP. “Our members report that the appeal of stability and personal freedoms that come with homeownership are top motivators.”

A survey of 500 NAHREP members including opinions from real estate agents and mortgage professionals revealed the following:

-Seventy-six percent of respondents said that stability of family ranked first or second as the primary reason why clients want to buy a home. Thirty percent said utility and the freedom to create a home that suited their personal or cultural style was the top one and two reasons why their clients want to purchase a home;

-Only 18% of practitioners polled viewed financial investment as the primary reason for buying a home;

-Fifty percent of members that answered the poll said that wasting money on rent ranked first or second as the primary motivation for their clients to become homeowners;

-Forty-nine percent of members said that tighter lending standards remain the biggest barrier to homeownership for their clients; while 44% ranked first or second the competition from cash investors as the main obstacle to homeownership of their buyers. Thirty percent of respondents ranked lack of down payment as one of the top two challenges for their buyers.

-Sixty-three percent of members polled say they have six or more mortgage-ready clients that are ready to buy a home;

-Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said that today’s buyers are more sensitive to purchase price and mortgage payment, more apt to want house payments that include taxes and insurance and prefer a 30-year fixed-rate loan;

-Sixty-five percent of Hispanic real estate professionals that participated in the poll said that some form of consumer education would be most useful to enabling Latinos to achieve homeownership

Nearly half of the nation’s 14 million Hispanic households currently rent. If half of the renter pool follows through and is able to achieve homeownership during the next five years as they plan, the nation’s fastest growing minority group could be the next big wave of first-time buyers. Based on the median home price of $174,900, this could create more than $600 billion in home sales over the next five years, the Hispanic trade association estimates.

“An infusion of new homeowners that want to stay put and build nests for their families is exactly what the housing market needs,” said Craig Nickerson, project director for the National Community Stabilization Trust, an organization that assists local communities to acquire, rehab and sell foreclosures back to homeowners. “Once the pendulum swings back to the middle, a whole new group of buyers will be ready to buy homes. This is promising news especially for foreclosure-ravaged communities.”

For more information, visit www.nahrep.org.

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Pew Data on Five Largest Latino Populations in U.S.

If you haven't decide whether or not target the Latino market in the USA, here is some stas that will help you decide.

•Mexicans make up over two-thirds of the U.S. Hispanic population, with four in ten living in California.

•The number of Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. and DC is higher (4.1 million) than those living in Puerto Rico (3.9 million), and are the second largest population of Hispanic origin residing in the U.S.

•The share of Cubans who live in poverty (12.3) is much closer to the percentage of the overall U.S. population (11.9%) and below the share among all Hispanics (19.5%).

•Six in ten Dominicans in the U.S. are foreign born, and eight out of ten live in the Northeast.

More Hispanics Buying Homes

Sioux Falls' Hispanic community is flexing its financial muscle in the real estate market. Breaking down language barriers is opening up more housing opportunities for immigrant families.

Sioux Falls real estate agent Freddie Contreras has seen the number of his Hispanic clients grow from zero to forty percent in the past year.

"That process is growing, I'm marketing more to them," Contreras said.

It helps that Contreras, of Mexican descent, speaks the language. He often has to translate the housing paperwork line-by-line for his Hispanic customers looking to buy a home. To Contreras, trust is just as important as what's in the fine print.

"You do build a good relationship with them, almost as a family they're, a second family for yourself, because there is a huge trust factor that you're not saying something that's not on the documents," Contreras said.

Many immigrants are often reluctant to buy a home on credit. They come from a culture where paying cash up front is the only way to do business.

"So for them to translate that now over here to ok, maybe I should owe something so that they will let me borrow something is difficult for them sometimes to comprehend," Contreras said.

As real estate companies and banks offer more bilingual support, Hispanic families are responding by purchasing both start-up and move-up homes; proving that pride in ownership crosses all cultural and language barriers.

This September, Contreras took part in a home buying seminar for Hispanic immigrants sponsored by the Sioux Falls Spanish Speaking Community Association. Four families who attended the seminar are in the process of closing on homes.




Perry Groten
© 2009 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

Foreclosures Impact Latino Immigrant Communities

Here is an article addressing the currently foreclosure crisis and how is affecting the Latino community. Please share it.

KANSAS CITY, KS (kcur) - The foreclosure crisis has brought a particular set of issues to Latino immigrants in the Kansas City area. Because of language barriers and the lack of a credit history, many immigrants are vulnerable to predatory lenders. They haven't faced more foreclosures than other groups. But when they do have housing problems, there are a few places where they can turn for help.

Carmen and Luis Amiel came to Kansas City about three years ago to buy a house.

"Because I lived 16 years in California and could never buy a house," Luis Amiel says. "Because it was too expensive."

Luis Amiel is from Peru, originally, and Carmen Amiel is from Mexico, where she had studied architecture. They met in Los Angeles, married and had three children. But then Carmen heard from some relatives about the good housing market in Kansas City.

She says they were excited about possibility of a house, with space for their kids, decent schools, and a quiet neighborhood. Her family recommended a real estate agent.

He sold the Amiels a $60,000 house with many structural problems. He promised to fix them, but never did.

"Because they didn't have the knowledge," says Licha Ybarra, who runs a home ownership program at Harvest America, a non-profit agency based in Kansas City Kansas. "They didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to do it. They didn't know who to go to. They were not able to get anything done, period."

Earlier this year, the Amiels came to Harvest America looking for help, when Luis lost one of his two jobs, and they fell behind in their mortgage payments. In the past year, Licha Ybarra's office has gotten hundreds of calls for help with loan modifications, mainly from Latino immigrant families.

"Someone just found out about Harvest America," Ybarra says. "And then we had all these calls; so we had a high volume of, unfortunately, foreclosure cases."

For Ybarra, it's been a stunning turn of events. About 15 years ago, she helped found one of the first local home-buyer programs geared towards Spanish speakers.

"There was a boom," Ybarra says. "In their countries, you have to be rich to buy a house and when they found out that all they needed was between a three percent and five percent down-payment. It was just word of mouth!"

In the late 1990s, several banks saw this as an under-served market. They began translating mortgage applications into Spanish, and accepted taxpayer IDs for those who didn't have social security numbers.

"I have to tell you that most Latinos are ready," Ybarra says. They have their money saved up, they have their savings, they have great work history, great rent history.

Ybarra says if they don't have traditional credit, she and the banks will work with home-buyers to come up with an alternative. But without that help, immigrants were at the mercy of some unscrupulous lenders.

"So here they were signing all these documents, you know, paying all these high fees, interest rates, paying all this money to the broker, to the real estate agent. And you know what, a lot of Spanish-speaking brokers, and a lot of Spanish-speaking real estate agents sadly took advantage of their own people."

In the past year, Ybarra says she's been able to help most families with bad mortgages get loan modifications.

Now this doesn't mean that Latino immigrants have had more problems with foreclosures than others. Ann Murguia heads the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association. She's been tracking foreclosures throughout Wyandotte County, where she's also a Unified Government Commissioner.

"Based on my experience in Argentine," Murguia says, "The number of foreclosures with migrants is few and far between."

Murguia's observations coincide with a national report from the Pew Hispanic Center, which says the rate of homeownership among immigrant Latinos has stayed the same in the past couple of years. That's even while homeownership has dropped for US-born Latinos, African Americans and whites.

"Migrants typically don't over-extend themselves," Murguia says. "It's a very conservative population, and they try to live within their means."

Murguia says even in situations where families have been the victims of predatory schemes, many will just keep paying a large portion of their incomes on loans they'll probably never pay off. And that's for modest homes.

"People want to keep paying because they don't want to raise any attention to themselves. And I don't just say that because they're undocumented. They don't want to cause problems, they don't want to make waves, and so - they don't complain."

Back at Harvest America, Licha Ybarra says some of these same predatory lenders are now charging families to do loan modifications.

Ybarra tells the Amiels, "Don't trust someone just because they speak your language."

And as for them, Luis Amiel hasn't been able to find enough work here. So he's thinking about going back to California, while Carmen and the kids stay in Kansas City.

"How sad," Licha Ybarra says, "That they'll need to be separated just to keep paying for their home."

This story was produced for KC Currents.

www.realestatelatino.com

Hispanic Homeownership Dropped to 49.1%

Homeownership fell in '08; Asians hit worst
By ALEX VEIGA (AP) – Sep 21, 2009

LOS ANGELES — Asians, many of them living in foreclosure-ravaged California, suffered the sharpest drop in homeownership last year, eclipsing declines felt by whites, blacks and Hispanics, according to new Census data.

The decline was surprising, because Asians tend to earn more than other minority groups and have less debt. But one out of three Asian homeowners lives in California, which has seen foreclosure rates skyrocket and home values plummet since the housing bubble burst. And that appears to have disproportionately exposed them to the effects from the housing collapse, experts suggested.

The U.S. homeownership rate fell to 66.6 percent last year, the lowest in six years, after hitting a peak of 67.3 percent in 2006, according to figures from the American Community Survey, which was released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Homeownership for Asians fell 1.24 percentage points last year to 59.4 percent.

The decline was 0.88 percentage points for blacks to 45.6 percent. Hispanics experienced a similar decline, down 0.80 to 49.1 percent. Whites suffered the smallest decline, down 0.40 to 73.4 percent.

But because Asians only represent 3.3 percent of all U.S. homeowners, the decline in the number of black and white households was greater. The number of Hispanic homeowners actually rose, reflecting trends in immigration and higher birth rates.

Nevertheless, as a population group, Asian homeowners fared far worse than others.

That revelation surprised some experts such as Edward Wolff, an economist at New York University.

"Based on their income and relatively low debt, one would expect that they would have a smaller decline in homeownership," Wolff said.

The median annual household income for Asians was just over $70,000 last year, higher than for any other racial group.

"It's possible that it's a regional effect," Wolff suggested. "There's a high concentration of Asian-Americans in California, and California got particularly hard hit by property (price) declines and high foreclosure rates."

While foreclosures have been declining on a monthly basis in California this year, the state continues to have the most foreclosures in the country and one of the highest rates of foreclosure-related filings, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

The drop in homeownership is a reversal after the housing boom years, when minorities in the U.S. took advantage of easy access to financing and became homeowners.

Minorities haven't lost all the gains reaped during the housing boom years, but data from 2009 could begin to show otherwise, said demographer Mark Mather with the Population Reference Bureau in Washington D.C.

"So far these rates are still higher than they were back at the beginning of the decade, but it could be that this data are too young," he said. "We need to wait for the 2009 data because we're really just capturing part of the recession at this point. And the really high double-digit unemployment didn't hit until earlier this year."

Jennifer Nguyen and her husband Mike Truong are among this year's once-again renters, who will be counted in the 2009 Census survey that will be released next year.

The couple owned a townhome and sold it in 2004, making a $200,000 profit that they put toward a $555,000, three-bedroom, two-bath house in Anaheim two years later.

But financial problems mounted after Troung, a truck driver, saw business slow along with the economy. The couple fought to hang on to their home, but couldn't refinance because the property's value had dropped sharply. Attempts to get their mortgage loan modified also failed.

In June, the bank took possession and sold it at auction.

"At that moment my body was numb," Nguyen, 30, wrote in an e-mail. "Our first chapter of our life has been shredded and we are now ready for a new fresh start."

AP data specialist Allen Chen in New York contributed to this report.

On the Net:
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov

New Hispanic Demographics. We Must Re-Think Latino

This information is from the Wall Street Journal:

•Hispanics now account for more than 15% of the U.S. population
•Hispanics control more disposable income than any other minority group. The figure stands at $860 billion a year and is expected to hit $1.3 trillion by 2012.
•Between 2000 and 2007, 16 states -- among them West Virginia, Illinois and New Jersey -- saw their white population decline, according to the new Census data. Over the same period, whites accounted for a majority of population growth in only 11 states.
•According to the Pew Research Center, whites are projected to make up only 45% of the working-age population in 2050, down from 68% in 2005.
•The center projects that the share of Hispanics in the working-age population will double rising from 14% to 31%.

Read the WSJ article here

Minority HomeOwnership Is Declining.

Here is an article that covers how much minority home-ownership is declining due primordially by the mortgage meltdown. In my opinion, the entire industry is no doing enough to ensured first time home buyers have new opportunities to owned of the American dream.

Mortgage rates are in the record low, and home prices are declining in many markets, so why is it that the gap of home-ownership between minorities and whites still represent a negative impact in our industry? Thanks for your comments.

REL Guiding Principles “Impeccable, Ethical, Behavior”

By RealEstateLatino.com

Homeownership is the primary means by which households in the United States achieve financial security and communities remain stable. Many Latinos in the United States have taken many opportunities of becoming homeowners. While long-term sustainable homeownership is key for building family wealth, and stronger community, achieving the dream of homeownership can sometimes become a challenge due to many barriers to homeownership.

Since its launched on 2004, REL has made its main priority take down all major barriers to homeownership facing the Latino community. Among other innovations, REL had developed a comprehensive bilingual online library called, InfoCenter, to help educate consumers wanting to make educated financial decisions. The InfoCenter serves as a primarily point of counseling for consumers with the option to ask questions and/or add comments on each article.

Under the slogan of “Impeccable, Ethical, Behavior,” REL pledged its commitment of maintaining a highest level of customer service when assistance consumers or working with industry partners. Every day, REL touches many consumers seeking to buy or sell a piece of real estate; this is why its founder, Bill Arce, believe that by continuing doing business with our slogan in mind, will increase the numbers of new referrals coming to REL from past-trusted clients.

U.S. Latino Online Audience Is Growing Fast, How This Can Benefit Your Real Estate Business

By Bill Arce http://www.realestatelatino.com/

On a recent study published by conScore, shows that online Latino audience grew 50% faster than the overall Latino population on 2008. In February, the Latino online audience surfing the Internet hit 20.3 million, up 6 percent from a year ago. Hispanos, now accounts for 11% of the total U.S. online market creating many opportunities for bilingual real estate professionals to expand theirs business on a new whole way.

If you still believe on the myth that Latinos are not online or that Latino don’t own computers, here are some facts that will help you better understand this segment of the online real estate market.

Latinos outpaced the general Internet population grows in total minutes spent while surfing the net, total pages view and total unique visits.

Latinos are embracing the Internet very quickly, with 78% users going online 3-5 times per week
According to the first annual U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy, Latinos spend 43% more time online at work (13.5 hours) and 13% more time online at home (9.5 hours) than the overall online population
Real estate agencies looking to expand their market share are looking at the Internet as the ideal place to meet potential clients

There very simple tools that a bilingual real estate professional can add to his or her arsenal that will help them effectively market Latinos online, here are some of the tools that I have used over the years with success.

1-bilingual real estate website: Studies shown that Latinos prefer to communicate in Spanish when they are transacting important business like buying or selling real estate, especially those who are first generation of immigrants, having a bilingual site, can help you accomplish this.

Allow your site visitors to interact with you without disclosing much of their personal information. You can accomplish this by creating tools like Q&A section, comments on your informative articles and videos; have downloadable educational guides, etc

2-ve a blog in Spanish: Blogs are great sources of information; it allows you the opportunity to demonstrate to your Spanish speaking readers that you are a real estate expert. Google “Spanish Real Estate Blogs” in your area to see how many they are, I can assure you that not many if any will come out on your search.

If you like to set up your own blog, you can use some easy formats for free like Blogger.com and Wordpress.org. Just follow the instruction and you could be blogging tonight.
Social Media En Español:

3- you are already a member of Facebook or LinkedIn this is great but it probably won’t help you interact with potential Latino clients, for that you must socialize where la “pachanga” is. Check out Univision.com and QuePasa.com these sites along with Yahoo En Español and Telemundo.com could help you mingle with Latino.

It is important that you DO NOT sell your services, instead offer your professional experience and answer as many questions as your time allows, this strategy should produce results very soon.

When you are promoting your brand online, do it from the hart do not try any hard sale, as the online market place can help you build reputation and leverage more business, it also can ruin your real estate career. If you are there helping others, business will come soon enough, you’ll see.
If you have any comment or question feel free to drop me a line @ bill.arce@realestatelatino.com

The Future of Latino Homeownership

By Bill Arce
RealEstateLatino.com

Alejandra Medina, a CHCI's HOGAR fellow class of 2007-2009 just published a paper on the institute website named "The Future of Latino Homeownership." The paper makes reference how Latinos are facing the current economy and how the housing crisis had become another challenging barrier to Latino homeownership.

Miss. Medina also proposed in her paper a response to the crisis including not just real estate professionals. The fellow goes further and recommends Latinos leaders in the housing community to facilitate communication between their organizations and the real estate industry to discuss how counseling can help future homebuyers can help obtain and long maintain their homes, among other recommendations.

The HOGAR fellow, who will graduate from the institute this year, also reports on the necessity to prevent the crisis, so it won't happen again. She highlights, that now more than ever the Latino consumers must have access to a better-trained and trusted real estate advisor.

This recommendation comes along with NAHREP code of Honor "En Confianza" that calls to reinstate the trust lost after the real estate debacle. In general, the report is very easy to read and offer a god inside of what is happening in our community today; I encourage you to read it.
If you would like to read a copy of this report, please visit http://www.chci.org/.

CASA LATINO-MIRAMAR REALTY GROUP OF BAKERSFIELD PRESS CONFERENCE

Casa Latino Franchise Corporation has added three Central California offices to it's franchise family. The three offices, formerly Miramar Realty Group of Bakersfield, CA, currently roster approximately 75 real estate agents, with a total staff of approximately 100. The newest franchisee in the Casa Latino system also plans to open several additional Casa Latino locations over the next several years and will commence an aggressive expansion program in January, 2008.

Click Here to view the video

Company eyes Hispanic real estate market in Kern

Just saying "Se Habla Español" isn't enough.

People don't talk about it a lot. But finding the right Hispanic real estate agent can be the difference between a happy, stress-free home buying or selling experience, and an unhappy, stressful experience. Many real estate agents claim to "specialize in the Hispanic real estate market". At Casa Latino we do much more than talk the language. We understand your culture, your way of life, your way of working, your way of financial management, your faith, your struggles, your goals, your needs, and your dreams, primarily because we have lived it.

As we roll toward 2008, consider the different options that lie ahead. While keeping in mind that in the worst market the nation has ever seen, Casa Latino is still growing at a rapid pace.

Join the growing list of real estate professionals that have made Casa Latino their home.

Sarah N. Ketchum
Casa Latino Real Estate
Director of Office Development
(661) 201-8474
3511 Union Ave.
Bakersfield, CA. 93305
(661) 321-0800
sarahketchum@casalatino.com

For Hispanic immigrants, bias isn't only barrier to housing

December 2, 2007
By LEAH RAE

Responding to a wave of anger over the influx of undocumented Hispanic immigrants, town boards across the country have tried to enlist landlords in denying housing to those without legal status.

But in the high-cost suburbs north of New York City, the housing struggle is more about money than ordinances, local housing advocates say.

"From my perspective, the discrimination that's going on is that they (the undocumented) are victims of exploitation," said Ann Spaeth of the Port Chester Council of Community Services. "Because those are the ones who can't complain."

Federal fair housing laws protect people from discrimination based on their race and national origin, but they do not specifically outlaw bias...Read Full Story @ http://www.realestatelatino.com/foro/forum_posts.asp?TID=192&PID=199#199

Source: LoHud.com

Real Estate Latino.com, the nation's premier Latino real estate community online