Cumulative Disadvantage in Hispanic Homeownership
This research examines the factors influencing older Hispanic homeowners' capacity to transfer housing equity to the next generation, potentially facilitating homeownership for younger Hispanic households. This study leverages data from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS), the 2022 Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), and the 2021 American Housing Survey (AHS), along with a review and synthesis of existing literature to explore the financial, demographic, and social factors impacting Hispanic homeownership and wealth retention over the homeownership lifecycle. Key areas of focus include income, debt, wealth, loans, homeownership, housing structure, mortgage interest rates, language proficiency, and health. Adopting a homeownership lifecycle approach, this research investigates how cumulative disadvantages compound to create barriers to purchasing homes, building housing equity, maintaining properties, and transferring wealth to the next generation. The findings reveal that Hispanic households typically enter homeownership later than non-Hispanic white households. Older Hispanic homeowners also carry higher housing debt at the median than both Black and white homeowners, maintaining elevated loan-to-value ratios throughout their lives, particularly beyond age 75. Additionally, this study highlights a significant disparity in savings and non-housing wealth among aging Hispanics, potentially driven by health-related employment interruptions and rising out-of-pocket health costs. Persistent income disparities between Hispanic and white households further contribute to these challenges. Existing literature indicates that Hispanic homeowners are less likely to have wills, which complicates inheritance processes and puts housing assets at risk of division or forced sale. Multigenerational family structures and the absence of estate planning further constrain Hispanic households' ability to preserve homeownership across generations. Ultimately, this study reveals how barriers at each stage of the homeownership cycle combine to limit intergenerational wealth transfer in Hispanic communities.