Hispanic wealth has risen, homeownership rate has not 

The Hispanic Wealth Project (HWP), an initiative spearheaded by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), has reported significant strides since launching in 2014. 

The project was established in the wake of the financial crisis of the late 2000s, when some Hispanic households lost as much as two-thirds of their wealth after home values collapsed. At the time, NAHREP set a goal of tripling Hispanic household wealth by 2024 — and it reached that goal two years early. 

NAHREP has now set its sights on new wealth growth ambitions, according to the 2026 State of Hispanic Wealth Report released on Monday. "The future of Hispanic wealth in America is promising," Beto Pallares, HWP's executive director, wrote in a foreword for the report, adding, "the momentum we see today has the potential to accelerate."

But even with the substantial gains of recent years, the report warns that threats to continued growth remain amid recently enacted federal policies.

Cutting the wealth gap in half

Since 2014, the wealth gap between Latino and non-Hispanic white households has narrowed. While non-Hispanic white households held $8.87 for every $1 of wealth held by Latino households in 2013, that gap shrank to $4.47 for every $1 by 2022.

The new goal, according to the HWP? To cut the proportional wealth gap in half by 2034, with a focus on homeownership, entrepreneurship, savings and long-term wealth growth.

Growth goals in real estate, business ownership, asset diversification

Nearly half of all Hispanic household wealth (45.5%) is linked to real estate, the report noted, including equity in primary homes and investment properties. As such, real estate is one of the HWP's most important pillars.

Maintaining a 50% homeownership rate: Since the country's Hispanic population has grown so rapidly, it has emerged as a key driver for the U.S. housing market. In 2025, Hispanic families formed 1.1 million new households — or 92.6% of all U.S. household growth — and Hispanic owner-households hit a record 10.2 million in 2025, accounting for all of the year's net growth in U.S. homeownership. The surge in new household formation caused the Hispanic homeownership rate to tick down slightly year-over-year, falling from 49% in 2024 to 48.5%.

According to the report, the HWP aims to keep the Hispanic homeownership rate at 50% or more, with a goal of growing the number of Hispanic owner-households to 11.5 million over the next 10 years. The report has also set goals of boosting the rate of Hispanic investment in real estate by 25% and doubling the share of Hispanic real estate and mortgage professionals.

Encouraging Hispanic-owned businesses: Latinos are among the country's fastest-growing entrepreneurial demographics, making up 36% of all new business owners despite representing just over one-fifth of the population.

To promote Latino business growth, advocates aim to increase the number of Hispanic-owned employer firms from about 495,822 to 600,000 or more and triple the investment allocation of venture capital funding to Hispanic founders over the next decade. 

More focus on non-cash assets, long-term financial planning: For many Hispanic households, their wealth is concentrated in real estate, which is one reason why the Great Recession hit that demographic so hard. One of the 10-year goals outlined in the HWP's report is thus to boost the share of Hispanic households that own non-cash financial assets to 50% or greater. Currently, about 28.1% of Hispanic household wealth comprises non-cash assets.

Additionally, only 8.9% of financial and investment analysts identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The HWP hopes to see that share rise by 30% over the next 10 years.

The HWP also wants to see at least a twofold increase in the share of Hispanic households with a will, trust or estate plan over the next decade.

Federal policy implications

Although Hispanic wealth has made substantial gains in the past 10 years and has the potential to continue growing, the immigration crackdown under the current presidential administration is poised to directly and indirectly hurt Hispanic wealth.

"Rather than expanding opportunity, these policies threaten to undermine one of the strongest periods of Hispanic wealth creation in history, with consequences extending beyond Hispanic families to the broader U.S. economy," the report said.

New barriers for buyers, construction workers: Shifting immigration policies have notably hit the construction workforce and created uncertainty about new home supply. On the homebuying side, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other immigrants with protected status are no longer eligible for FHA-backed financing, closing a key pathway to homeownership for these would-be buyers.

Financing grows more complicated: Small business lending has also been restricted, with businesses that are majority-owned by U.S. citizens at risk of losing eligibility if any other owner, investor or stakeholder is a noncitizen — even if that noncitizen is a legal permanent resident, the report noted.

Latino noncitizens additionally are facing heightened scrutiny while trying to secure a loan or open a new bank account since federal regulators must now consider immigration status when evaluating risk. Meanwhile, mixed-status families may face greater challenges in obtaining legal representation if they encounter title issues or try to protect their assets during a time of crisis, according to the report.

"Concerns surrounding immigration status may discourage some households from seeking legal assistance, while uncertainty among legal providers about immigration-related issues can further complicate access to representation," the report said.