A new report by the Houston Association of Realtors sheds a light on housing affordability in the city during 2023, focusing specifically on the factor of ethnicity. Among its many findings, only one in four Latinos earned enough to buy a median-priced home in 2023, down from 28% in 2022.
Housing affordability declined across the board as 26% of Black households could afford an equally priced home last year (compared to 34% in 2022) and 51% of Asian and White households could afford to buy a median-priced home in 2023 compared to 58% a year earlier.
The study, titled Housing Affordability by Ethnicity, uses HAR's Housing Affordability Index (HAI) to measure the percentage of households for each ethnic group that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in the Houston area.
The researchers were quick to point out that rocketing interest rates in 2023 were a large reason behind the decline: "high interest rates have put the American dream of homeownership further out of reach for all ethnic groups, especially Black and Hispanic/Latino consumers—groups that have historically struggled to buy a home," said HAR Chair Thomas Mouton in a statement. "This underscores the need for equitable solutions to ensure that every family has access to affordable housing, regardless of race or ethnicity."
The report also revealed that 40% of all households earned the minimum income of $105,200 to buy a median-priced home of $336,000 in 2023 compared to 2022 when 44% of households earned the minimum income needed to buy a median-priced home.
Rent has also become an issue for Latinos in certain states as of late. A recent survey of Latinos in Arizona and California by UnidosUS and BSP Research revealed that among their most pressing concerns, 54% of respondents said they were afraid of not being able to make their rent or mortgage payments, while 49 percent of respondents in Texas felt that way.
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