Hispanics could send the housing recovery into high gear if it weren’t for an inventory shortage and regulations that favor investors, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP).

Hispanics are the fastest growing group of first-time homebuyers, the NAHREP’s 2012 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report shows.

Their growing population, increasing education and expanding employment and income levels are pushing them toward homeownership.

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The obstacle for Hispanic homeownership is the investor-controlled housing market.

Specifically, government and corporate policies like real estate owned-to-rental programs have removed affordable housing stock from the owner-occupied market, creating an imbalance in supply and demand.

In 2012, investors purchased 50 percent of all homes selling for $250,000 or less, with the majority of these transactions driven through bulk sales, auctions and drop-bid trustee sales, according to the NAHREP.

Mortgage services and government agencies should repair foreclosed properties and make them eligible for FHA lending and sell them to owner-occupants whenever possible, the NAHREP argues. Mortgage servicers should also work with Hispanic real estate agents in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods to facilitate sales.

Despite the housing bust, the number of Hispanic homeowners grew from 4.2 million in 2000 to 6.7 million in 2012, a 58 percent increase, while the rest of the U.S. population saw a net increase of only 5 percent.

Hispanics have accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the past decade. In 2011, the number of 18 to 24-year-old Hispanics enrolled in college exceeded 2 million and reached a record 16.5 percent share of all college enrollments.

In 2012, Hispanic job growth accounted for about half of all new jobs in the United States. The number of Hispanic households earning over $50,000 is growing faster than that of the total number of U.S. households, according to the report.

“It is not the credit crunch or the lack of financing, a general idea about the Latino potential homeowner but the obstacle is really the lack of inventory and the unfair conditions Hispanics are facing in the bidding process against large cash investors,” Gerardo Ascencio, NAHREP president, tells VOXXI, a website offering news on Hispanics.

“We see 20, 30 or 40 offers per listing and potential homeowners making multiple offers to several properties but after three to four months, they get discouraged and worn out,” he says. “They get beat up by cash buyers and pool investors who offer a fast closing even at lower prices while Latino homeowners, many of who hold FHA- or VA-backed mortgages, need to wait as long as 60 days for their contracts to close.”

Editor's Note: The Final Turning Predicted for America. See Proof.