HISPANIC HOUSING MARKET STRONG

The housing market, of course, is in the midst of a widely chronicled slump. Builders’ activity has grinded almost to a halt, while home foreclosures have reached historic levels. Not all the news is bad, however. The Hispanic housing market remains relatively robust. Nationally, approximately one-third of all new home sales in 2008 came from Hispanic consumers. Analysts estimate that Latinos will need 4.6 million housing units over the next 20 years. Plus, the number of traditional entry-level buyers—with the average age being 33—will increase 12 percent among Hispanics by 2010, even as the number declines among other groups by 10 percent.

Locally, the picture is perhaps even better, with Central Florida’s heavily Hispanic communities growing by leaps and bounds, some by more than 107 percent, according to recent industry data. Not coincidentally, the Hispanic spending power in Central Florida is expected to reach $10.5 billion by the end of 2009.