Learning about interest rates and home prices can be overwhelming.

But many Latinos have conquered those challenges, becoming a growing demographic of homebuyers, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Emilio Fabian Diaz is a vice president of mortgage lending for Guaranteed Rate. He works with many first-time homebuyers in the Latino community. Diaz said with the growing number of Latino families comes more Latino homeowners.

“There is a larger family formation that’s growing in the Latino community,” Diaz said. “So a lot of us, including myself, first-generation Americans here are, you know, entering homeownership right now.”

Interest rates saw record highs last year, reaching almost 8% and raising concerns for first-time buyers looking to get into the market. This was until 2023 saw a slight decline beginning in November. The trend is expected to continue, sparking interest again for that group.

“This past year, we dealt a lot with affordability just with the higher rates and prices staying high,” Diaz said. “The demand was still high, so prices stayed high. But now with rates hopefully forecasted to go down, the affordability isn’t so much the issue, and we make homeownership accessible to everybody.”

For potential homebuyers, Diaz said there’s always an advantage to taking the leap.

“Historically speaking, homeownership is the largest contributor to net worth in the United States,” Diaz said. “There’s studies that say in 2019, the average homeowner had a net worth 40 times greater than a renter. So I do believe that homeownership is still going to be very important.”

Stories about Chicago homeownership are supported by funding from The Chicago Community Trust.