Arizona is one of the first five states in the United States to add Latino buyers in the past 10 years, with nearly 82,000 new homeowners, according to a 2021 study by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.

This and other data is part of the annual report “Datos: the Hispanic market in the state of Arizona, A compilation of studies published by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to highlight the importance of the Hispanic community’s contribution to the state and national economy.

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This year’s report focused on Latinos and housing, predicting that 70% of new homeowners nationwide will be Latinos through 2040. Nationally, the purchasing power of Hispanics was $ 1.9 trillion in 2020, up 87% from 2010.

Housing is the basis for the overall growth of the community, said Gloria Muñoz, executive director of the Maricopa County Housing Authority.

“We need to rethink housing,” said Muñoz, who discussed the report at an online press conference Friday. “Housing, I tell everyone, is the base. From home, you go to work, you go to school. At home, you recover when you are tired.

This is the 25th year of the Data report, a comprehensive overview of general economic growth and disparities in Grand Canyon state, where the Hispanic population is nearly 32%, placing Arizona fourth among the states with the highest Latin American populations.

The report describes the impact of the state’s second-largest demographic group on education, economy, employment and the environment.

Among other statistics, the report shows that Latino students currently make up 46% of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 student body in Arizona and make up the majority of the state’s future workforce.

The report comes shortly after census data revealed Latinos are now the largest ethnic group in Phoenix, surpassing whites by less than a percentage point.

The report highlighted several statistics on the strength of Latino homebuyers, particularly in metro Phoenix.

The report says the future of Hispanic homeownership is the younger population, and Phoenix is ​​in the top 20 metropolitan areas with “Hispanic millennials most mortgage-ready.”

Hispanics own one in six homes in the designated Phoenix market area, according to a 2020 Geoscape Intelligence System study that was included in the report.

Nationally, Hispanic spending on housing has tripled since 2000 as a percentage of GDP, to $ 371 billion, compared to a doubling in spending for the general population.

But the barriers to home ownership remain. Tight mortgage credit, low housing stock and the effects of the pandemic on employment may hamper homeownership for Latinos in the future.

Arizona’s housing crisis will force many Latinos to stay renters, Muñoz said, highlighting the increase in homeownership by investors, who are turning properties into rentals.

“It is important to recognize that if the future buyer is Latino, what will he buy? ” she asked. “Who can compete with Wall Street?

Despite projections for economic growth, the report noted drawbacks for Hispanics, especially women. The odds of bank loan approval are about 60% lower for Latinos than for white-owned employer businesses, the report says, and a Latina would have to work 22 months to achieve the same income level as their male counterparts. blanks earned during the 12 months. from 2019.

For Petra Falcon, executive director of Promise Arizona, who also spoke at the press conference, strengthening the state’s political and economic climate for the Hispanic community as vital to the future of her five children and 10 grandchildren.

The first step, she says, is education.

“If you give them the tools, they can do the rest,” Falcon said. “Everyone should have the choice to realize their potential. “

Article by Itzia Crespo, Cronkite News