Through Boom and Bust: Minorities, Immigrants and Homeownership

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, today released a report that analyzes trends in homeownership from 1995 to 2008; higher-priced lending to Hispanics and blacks in 2006 and 2007; and factors related to differences in foreclosure rates across the nation's 3,141 counties.
 
The study finds that minorities experienced the greatest gains in homeownership rates during the housing boom of 1995-2005, but blacks and native-born Hispanics have experienced the sharpest setbacks in recent years. Also, Hispanics and blacks remain far more likely than whites to borrow in the subprime market, pay higher rates on loans and carry higher debt relative to their incomes. Meantime, compared with the native born, immigrants have suffered a smaller decline in their homeownership rate during the housing slump.
 
The analysis of foreclosure rates in U.S. counties finds they are related to the share of immigrants in county populations. However, it cannot be concluded that immigration in and of itself is the cause of higher foreclosures. The condition of the local economy, house prices and higher priced lending to minorities are among other key factors related with county foreclosure rates.