Sharing the Dream: Latinos See Home Gains

The number of home buyers with Spanish surnames in Southern California surged to 34.3 percent in 2004 from 17.6 percent a decade earlier, DataQuick Information Systems reports.

Latino home buyers are moving beyond the traditional magnets of Anaheim, Santa Ana, Pico Rivera, Compton, and Lynwood to Fontana, Riverside, Ontario, and the northern portions of Los Angeles and San Diego counties. While the statewide median home price came in at $425,000 in February, DataQuick says the median paid by Latino buyers was $383,500.

Despite their distrust of banks and lack of traditional credit histories, Latinos are achieving homeownership due to Spanish-speaking marketing campaigns; mortgages for buyers with non-traditional credit; homeownership courses that help Latinos establish checking accounts; and lenders that allow several families to hold title to one property.

Still, Latinos accounted for less than a quarter of home buyers in the state since 2003, compared to 59 percent of non-Latino whites. American CityVista's Henry Cisneros urges builders who target Latinos to include extra bedrooms, outdoor space, and garage space as well as focus on neighborhoods in close proximity to churches, schools, and public transit.