Latino Leaders Launch Initiative to Address Widening Racial Wealth Gap, Triple Hispanic Household Wealth

PRESS RELEASE

By Capital Wire PR

SAN DIEGO/WASHINGTON D.C.– The widening disparity in Hispanic household wealth fueled by higher job losses, foreclosure, lost housing equity and income inequality has incited the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals along with other Latino leaders to launch the NAHREP Hispanic Wealth Project. Henry Cisneros, US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1993-1997), will chair an advisory group of Business leaders, entrepreneurs, and celebrities that  will develop a blueprint of remedies to triple Hispanic household wealth over the next 10 years. Expanding and preserving sustainable homeownership is a significant component of the initiative. The association announced the initiative this week at its 2014 Housing Policy & Hispanic Lending Conference in Washington, D.C.

Business leaders who have signed on for a leadership role on the advisory board include:

·      Nely Galan, media mogul, and founder of the Adelante Movement

·      Dan Gilbert, Founder Chairman Quicken Loans

·      Luis Maizel, CEO LM Capital Group

·      Dr. Jerry Porras, Professor, Stanford University

·      Frank Herrera, Chairman, New American Alliance, Chairman, The Herrera Law Firm

·      John Long, President and CEO of Highridge Partners and co-founder of Golden Boy Partners

NAHREP leaders will spearhead the project, coordinate the funding, produce the report and manage awareness campaigns that publicize its findings. Historically home equity has accounted for two-thirds of the average net worth of Latino households, so Hispanic real estate leaders see a strong correlation between homeownership and the other opportunities it traditionally affords Latino families.  In support of the project, The University of Chicago Booth School Of Business Executive MBA Students will provide research reports including an analysis of the impact that the Hispanic Wealth Project could have on the overall U.S. economy.

“NAHREP’s own mission for advancing sustainable Hispanic homeownership is in alignment with wealth creation, said Gary Acosta, NAHREP’s CEO. “However, a broad set of factors like small business growth, savings, education, income, jobs and financial literacy will also be addressed in this project.

The advisory group will author a blueprint that defines strategies and programs that address the gap. This will include a thorough analysis of the asset composition of Latino households, the impact of debt, the role of education, current access to government programs, small business formation trends, low wages and higher unemployment rates, assimilation and language, to name a few.  The final report is expected to be completed later in the year.

The financial crisis caused huge setbacks for minorities and, in particular, Latinos whose labor sectors (construction, housing, hospitality, domestic services) suffered the largest job losses. Hispanic unemployment rates averaged a full 2% above the national average. Foreclosures dealt a huge blow to the community with Latino families losing as much as 66% of their household wealth between lost homes and lost equity.

“Hispanics are a substantial and growing segment of our workforce and consumer base. The entire country benefits when the Hispanic community succeeds, Said Henry Cisneros, “Now is the perfect time for a thoughtful and comprehensive effort to address this important issue.”

Cisneros, who also co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission and Immigration Task Force, has been public in his concerns about the education and wealth disparities between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites. Even with Hispanics’ rise in the labor pool, most of the job growth has been in low wage jobs.

The gap in Hispanic wealth and income bears long-term implications for the broader US economy. The nation has come to depend on the rising contributions of Hispanic labor. As the mammoth baby boomer generation of 80 million edges into retirement and begins to draw Social Security benefits, Latino labor and wage deductions will cover those benefit payments. According to experts, Hispanics are expected to comprise 19% of the US labor force by 2020.

About NAHREP

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a non-profit 501c6 trade association, is dedicated to increasing the homeownership rate among Latinos by educating and empowering the real estate professionals that serve them. Based in San Diego, NAHREP is the premier trade organization for Hispanics and has more than 20,000 members in 48 states and 40 affiliate chapters.