NAREE Conference Looks at Latino Housing
/By: Sharon Stangenes
SAN ANTONIO -- The U.S. Latino population is a bright opportunity in the depressed U.S. real estate industry if only builders and other realty professionals will recognize this fast-growing group’s housing and cultural needs, two experts told the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in San Antonio.
Latinos make up 15.9 percent of the U.S. population, a figure expected to grow in the next five years, noted consultant Oscar Gonzales, managing partner of Houston-based Gonzales Group.
It’s a significant number of would-be homebuyers, said Gonzales, who joined Scott Caballero, chairman of the San Antonio Board of Realtors, in a discussion of Latino housing preferences.
Citing a recent study by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), Caballero noted that minorities and immigrants are poised to drive the first-time home buyer market in the next 15 years because of their number, age, larger families and growing economic clout.
Gonzales said this is a national trend because many of those buyers will be outside the traditional “gateway” states such as California, Florida and Texas, where Hispanics are 38 percent of the population, in “non-traditional” locales such Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.
Though Hispanics were targeted by lenders for more subprime loans and, thus, have been affected in higher numbers by foreclosure in the current housing downturn, home ownership is such a strong cultural priority that, unlike some other demographic groups, young Latinos are unlikely to be discouraged from future buying, Gonzales said.
But he and Caballero said the real estate industry will need to be more sensitive to the cultural nuances of Hispanic buyers to tap into future sales and profits.
“It’s all about the family. It’s all about being close,” said Caballero.
While having a bilingual staff to work with Hispanic buyers should be obvious, Gonzales noted that it is often the first-, second- and third-generation relatives who have the money and are the home-buying customers. They likely will be accompanied by older immigrant parents or relatives as entire families are more likely to participate in the buying process. Sales people should take the time to discern which family member is the home buyer and not assume it is the oldest person in the room, Gonzales said.
Latinos have specific architectural preferences including open floor plans with adjacent kitchen, living and dining areas for large family gatherings and two master bedroom suites, at least one on the main floor. Those master suites provide access and privacy for multigenerational living arrangements in a culture where caring for and living with seniors is the norm, Gonzales said.
As a general rule, Gonzales noted Hispanics prefer to congregate for socializing at the front of a home, rather than in the backyard, so builders should set homes further back on the property when possible. In addition, he noted that brick or stucco housing, the building material of choice in Latin countries, is considered more durable and thus prized over wood siding.
He also stressed the importance of gas kitchen ranges accommodate a stable of the Latin diet.
“It is impossible to cook tortillas on electric stoves,” he said.
NAREE Member Sharon Stangenes is a freelance writer and contributor to the Chicago Tribune.