Hispanic Housing Market

Dreamers, unauthorized who were brought to the United States as children, will account for almost 5% of the Texas graduation class.   In the Houston and Dallas school districts, these graduates will account for 10% of the graduation class.  Most came with parents who were poor and certainly had less education.  But 85% of all Dreamers in Texas will graduate high school, and almost 65% of that number will go on to college.  And Texas is one of the few states in the nation that permit Dreamers to pay in-state tuition, even though they are not citizens.  Most states do not give that luxury.   Some 98,000 Dreamers will graduate high school this year across the United States, with 27,000 in California and 17,000 in Texas.  Therefore, these two states account for almost half of all Dreamers nationwide.   A Texas legislator has submitted a bill to the state congress to eliminate in-state tuition for Dreamers.  It is not expected to pass due to growing support from both Republicans and Democrats that these graduates, like all graduates, need the education to succeed in life.

• • • • • • • • • • Dallas Morning News, April 25, 2019 (excerpts)

Latinos are finding their economic legs under the Trump administration, leading the surge in home ownership and income growth and record low poverty rates, according to two comprehensive new surveys.  While they remain far behind whites in income, they have seen their third consecutive year of income growth and have a higher workplace participation rate, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the Hispanic Wealth Project. 

In two studies just released, the groups also provided revealing details about Latinos and their growth in America. For example, by 2060, nearly one of every three in the U.S. will identify as Latino.  The reports detailed Hispanic housing and economic trends and found most signs rapidly improving.  What's more, the group's goal of nudging overall Hispanic income up is showing signs of success. The group said that within the next five years, Hispanic median income will triple.

The group listed the positive trends in its income report:

• For the fourth consecutive year, Hispanics increased their rate of home ownership, reaching a rate of 47.1%. In 2018, Latinos added 362,000 homeowners which is the highest number of owner households added for Latinos since 2005.
• In 2017, Hispanics saw the third consecutive year of income growth and the highest of any demographic.
• Between 2016 and 2017, Hispanics increased their real median income by 3.7%. Latino families making an annual income over $200,000 increased from 2.1% in 2011 to 3.8% in 2017, and the percentage of Latino millionaires more than doubled between 2013 and 2016.
• Poverty rates reached a historic low for Latinos. Simultaneous to median income growth, Hispanics have lowered their poverty rate for three consecutive years. With a poverty rate of 18.3% in 2017, Hispanics reached their lowest level since poverty estimates for Hispanics were first published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1972.

• Latinos have significantly higher labor force participation rates. Hispanics are employed at a rate of 66.1%, compared to 62.9% of the general population. The Hispanic unemployment rate was reduced by over 7 percentage points between 2009 and 2018, from 12.1% to 4.7%, respectively.
• Latinos continue to drive small business growth. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of Latino-owned employer firms increased by 13.1%, accounting for 23.8% of the net growth of all employer firms during that period.
• Participation in retirement accounts for Latinos is increasing. Between 2013 and 2016, Hispanics increased their rate of retirement account ownership from 25.1% to 29.7%, and the value of their retirement accounts increased by roughly 40.4%.

• Washington Examiner, April 23, 2019