Homeownership in reach for Hispanic buyers

MOSES LAKE — The National Association of Realtors recently released its “2025 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America,” and the numbers tell several different stories, particularly where Hispanic homeowners and buyers are concerned. 

Hispanic Americans experienced the largest gains in homeownership rates between 2013 and 2023, according to the report, going from 45.2% to 51%, a gain of almost six percentage points, according to the report. This means more than 3.5 million Hispanics in the U.S. purchased their first homes during that decade. In Washington state, Hispanic home buyers accounted for 17.2% of homeownership growth over the last 10 years, according to data from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.  

The NAR report highlighted some disparities nationwide in homeownership opportunities between Hispanic and Anglo buyers, but those aren’t really a factor in the Columbia Basin, said Jesse “Weno” Dominguez, CEO of Imagine Realty in Othello. Othello is 85% Hispanic, Dominguez said, and he sees no barriers to home ownership on that basis. 

“We’re right on target,” Dominguez said. “I don’t think there are any disparities here … if there was a disparity I wouldn’t have a job in this community.” 

On average in the U.S., 17% of Hispanic applicants for a mortgage were denied, according to the NAR’s figures, compared to 11% of Anglo applicants. In Washington, the denial rate for Hispanic applicants was 13%. The study cited credit history and higher debt-to-income ratios as significant causes.  

Those don’t have to be deal-breakers, however, Dominguez said, pointing out that in recent years many companies have begun to lend money to an applicant with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, for residents who don’t qualify for a Social Security number because they’re not citizens. That makes it possible for an ITIN holder to build up credit. 

“You can build your credit,” Dominguez said. “I think JC Penney will take your ITIN for credit history. You can get car loans with your ITIN number. And once you have credit with your ITIN number, you're going have to put more money down, a higher percentage, but you can still buy a home. We've sold multiple homes with ITIN numbers throughout the years.” 

Language barriers aren’t the problem in the Basin that they might be elsewhere either, Dominguez said.  

“There’s a lot of Spanish-speaking Realtors out there, and real estate agents,” he said. “Same thing with loan officers. Every bank I know has a Spanish-speaking (employee) or interpreting services.” 

Lenders have a number of programs that buyers may not be aware of and can often find solutions to problems that look insurmountable at first, said Rosa Cabrera, a loan officer with Self-Help Credit Union, at a first-time home buyers seminar last week. 

“One thing that I tell a lot of our community (is) don't be afraid to ask, give us a call,” Cabrera said. “It doesn't harm you whatsoever just giving us a call and (saying) ‘I have a question. I have a scenario. What do you think about this? Is this even possible?’ And then we will do our best to guide you to that solution. There are families (where) it can take us two, three years in the whole process, but we will not give up.” 

Self-Help Credit Union has programs to help first-time home buyers with down payments and closing costs, two of the biggest barriers, Cabrera said. The state and federal governments have assistance as well, Dominguez said. 

“If you really want a home, there should be nothing stopping you,” he said. “You need to learn how to find the right programs.” 

The key is to find the experts who know how the process works and listen to them, Dominguez said.  

“Sit down with a professional and come up with a plan,” he said. “Don’t just go out and buy. Meet with one of us (real estate agents), meet with a loan officer and have somebody guide you, show you the way. There’s so many possibilities out there.”