National Housing Initiative

National Housing Initiative

CHCI Launches Mid-Career Fellowship Program to Bridge Hispanic Home Ownership Divide

As the rate of home ownership for Latinos continues to lag significantly behind that of the population at large— 47 percent vs. 68 percent—bi-partisan housing fellowship program has been launched to close the gap.

On September 24, 2003 the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) launched its National Housing Initiative (NHI) during a Capitol Hill press conference to ensure that by the end of the decade Latinos will share equally in the American Dream of homeownership.

The NHI focuses on expanding the accessibility of homeownership to Latinos by employing an innovative bi-partisan, multi-tiered strategy to identify and develop solutions to address the current obstacles faced by Hispanics. The effort targets 63 congressional districts — in 11 states— where Latinos comprise at least 25 percent of the constituency. Three NHI fellows are working in concert with an Advisory Committee comprised of Members of Congress, representatives of the lending and real estate industries, as well as advocacy organizations in order to adequately assess the needs of Latinos and implement strategies specially tailored to the varied needs of the Hispanic community.

The initiative targets states including: California, Texas, New York, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, Nevada, Illinois, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2010 minorities will comprise nearly two-thirds of the approximately 14 to 16 million new households in this country. Latinos will account for a substantial percentage of this growth as they did in the past decade.

Homeownership is a primary means by which households in the United States achieve financial security and communities achieve stability; nonetheless, the homeownership rate for Hispanics in the U.S. (46.1%) continues to lag significantly behind the nation's overall rate (68.1%), as well as that of non-Hispanic Whites (74.6%). Over the past 10 years, however, Hispanic rates have improved, and in some cases Hispanic homeownership has grown at a rate three times higher than that of other non-Hispanic groups.

Homeownership is part of the American dream, and experts agree that it is the most important source of household wealth and savings. It contributes to neighborhood stability, community development, better health and education outcomes, and for many new immigrants it is the gateway to full citizenship. Nevertheless, many Hispanic Americans still face significant barriers to achieving this dream.

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