HOUSING PUSH FOR HISPANICS SPAWNS WAVE OF FORECLOSURES

California
For years, immigrants to the U.S. have viewed buying a home as the ultimate benchmark of success. Mortgage lenders appear to have regarded Latinos as a largely untapped demographic

• Between 2000 and 2007, as the Hispanic population increased, Hispanic homeownership grew even faster, increasing by 47 percent, to 6.1 million from 4.1 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• In 2005 alone, nonprime mortgages to Hispanics jumped by 169 percent, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Regions of the country where the housing bubble grew biggest, such as California, Nevada and Florida, are heavily populated by Latinos, many of whom worked in the construction industry during the housing boom. But when these markets began to weaken, bad loans depressed the value of neighboring properties, creating a downward spiral.

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