GREENACRES, Fla. — Owning a home is often thought of as the key to unlocking the American dream. New research shows more Hispanic people are becoming homeowners.
According to a study by the Urban Institute, 70% of new homeowners will be Hispanic by 2040.
For Realtors like Alex Ordonez, that statistic is seen firsthand in South Florida.
"Close to 60% [of my clients] have been Hispanic," Ordonez said. "Latinos are very family oriented, come together, multi-generational to purchase a home, to gather in the home, live together, celebrate together."
Ordonez, also Hispanic, said it's great to see a group of people he relates to going through the process of buying a home and then signing off to purchase a home.
"The feeling I get when a first-time homebuyer picks up their key, walks into their home for the first time and it's actually their home, it's a beautiful process and we're blessed to be a part of that," he said.
Ordonez recently helped Wilma Guzman and her family buy their first home.
"I wanted this for the longest time," Guzman said. "It's been a few years I've been planning and trying to prepare for it, but then this year I was like, 'I'm ready.'"
Even during this very tough housing market, Guzman was able to open the door to homeownership. She was a renter for nearly a decade, dreaming of the moment she could have her own space.
"I was looking for the balcony, the space to just relax, the two bedrooms, the two bath, just to be able to sit at home and gather and cook," Guzman said.
Studies show Hispanics are expected to dominate the housing market. According to a 2022 report from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, Latinos in Florida are responsible for 35.6% of homeownership growth nationwide and 45.1% of household formation growth over the last 10 years.
"It tells you that we are growing in leaps and bounds and we're just not growing just to grow," Daisy Lopez-Cid, past president of NAHREP, said. "This new generation coming in is more educated on knowing how to buy a home, what's the process and what they need to buy a home."
Guzman falls in line with those studies, which is why she was able to purchase her first house.
"It's been a blessing," Guzman said. "It's a long road, but it's all worth it in the end."