Immigrants Are Closing Gap in Homeownership #realestate #investment

Source:  USA Today

Immigrants are gaining on U.S.-born residents in homeownership, a positive development that's likely enhancing their contribution to the economy, a Trulia study shows.  Half of immigrants in the country owned homes last year, compared with 66 percent of U.S.-born residents, the smallest gap between the two groups in the past two decades, according to the study.  The disparity peaked in 2001, when 70.3 percent of American-born residents owned homes, compared with 49.6 percent of immigrants.

The primary reason immigrants are catching up is that their average tenure in the U.S. has increased, giving them more time to build up a work history, improve their credit scores, and save for a down payment.  In 2014, 75 percent of immigrants had lived in the U.S. at least 10 years, up from 65 percent in 2005, according to Census and Trulia data.
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