By Daily Press staff
The average Latino family in Los Angeles has been financially locked out of housing opportunities, according to a new study by the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.
Soaring increases in home prices, a growing population, sluggish growth in household income and a slow rate of home construction are at the root of the current trend, the researchers say.
The findings from the center came from a survey known as the “Latino Scorecard 2003, Grading the American Dream.” The center reviewed numerous housing factors in the Latino community as one of five parts of the scorecard. The other areas evaluated were health, education, economic development and public safety. The survey is a five-year project sponsored by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
“At the current time, the typical Latino family has little choice but to live in expensive and inadequate rental units,” said Dr. Mara Marks, associate director of the center. “If the ‘American dream’ is to remain viable for this region’s largest demographic group, Los Angeles County needs more housing, as well as home loans that are cheaper and of higher quality.”
Marks co-authored the housing study with Fernando Guerra, the center’s director, and Matt Barreto, a research fellow at the center.
Nearly half of Los Angeles County’s population — about 45 percent — is Latino, and the majority of children now born in California are Latino, meaning the population will continue increase in the coming years, center officials said.
“As a result of current demographic trends, what impacts Latinos impacts all Angelenos,” Marks said.
LMU researchers focused on four areas: Accessibility, availability, affordability and quality. The study provides grades in each area as a baseline. Updated “score-cards” will be issued in 2005 and 2007 to explore the progress made in each area.
From the 2003 survey, researchers arrived at the following statistics: ■Latinos receive only 17 percent of new home loans, had higher rejection rates than whites and were more likely to receive sub-prime loans. ■Latino homeownership stands at 38 percent compared to 58 percent among whites and only one new home is being built for every 30 Latinos who move to L.A. ■Home prices grew by 12 percent, up to $227,000 in 2001, but incomes only grew 3 percent, the average Latino family spends almost half their income on housing. LMU researchers came up with an overall “D” grade for the housing situation among Latinos.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 11, 2003. Read the original PDF.