The Hispanic American community is emerging as one of the largest segments among the American home buyers. According to Freddie Mac, the Hispanic American homebuyer segment has increased by 25% in the last decade. These up and coming home buyer may represent an estimated 56% of all new homeowners by 2030. This Hispanic mortgage borrower demographic is proving to be a force to reckon with in the real estate industry.
In the midst of interest rate volatility, the demand for real estate continues to slide. Lenders are seeking unique ways to attract new buyers. This means lenders are proactively analyzing trends and data to come up with fresh strategies to push demand for home mortgages. Noteworthy is the emergence of Hispanic Americans is one of the most prolific segment of borrowers seeking home loans and homeownership.
Despite a tech-enabled user experience for potential home buyers, Spanish-speaking borrowers often find it challenging to navigate the mortgage application and lending process. Among the Hispanic Americans, limited English proficiency (LEP) is a major barrier to homeownership. Credit score of the borrowers remain the biggest obstacle. The terms and conditions as well as mortgage loan application terminology keep the native Spanish-speaking demographic from having a seamless experience.
Lenders should try to tactfully bridge the gap between the large Hispanic American potential homeowner segment and the mortgage process. This would create better accessibility to homeownership and more fruitful leads in return. A sizeable percentage of such borrowers find the process hard to understand and time-consuming, according to a survey. Often, they have to bring a person to translate and help with the loan application process. The survey also revealed that nearly a quarter (24%) of the applicants took three weeks or longer to fill out the mortgage application. Bilingual lenders could help overcome this language barrier and mitigate much of the complexities involved.
2023 should be seen as an opportunity to connect better with the Hispanic American home-buying segment and provide them with the support they deserve.