Houston Ranks Sixth in Immigrant Home Ownership Among U.S. Cities

HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – Houston ranks sixth among U.S. cities for home ownership by immigrants, according to a report by LendingTree, the online loan marketplace.

The U.S. Census Bureau showing that America’s population currently contains the highest proportion of immigrants it has counted in more than 100 years.

The information for 2017 compiled by federal headcounters shows that 13.7% of the U.S. population is foreign-born – the largest portion since 1910

The findings inspired LendingTree to dig deeper to identify how cities in the U.S. rank in terms of the proportion of homes owned by immigrants. The company confirmed that Houston places sixth in the nation for the number of homes owned by immigrants.

Actually, the four major metros in Texas all showed up among the top 22 cities on the list. The tallies are:

• 6, Houston, 16.6% of homes are owned by foreign-born people; 33.7% are owned by the native-born. The median price of a home is $278,700.

• 12, Dallas, 11.7% of homes are owned by foreign-born people; 47.9% are owned by the native-born. The median price of a home is $214,900.

• 21, Austin, 9% of homes are owned by foreign-born people; 48.7% are owned by the native-born. Median price of a home is $283,600.

• 22, San Antonio, 8.3% of homes are owned by foreign-born people; 63.3% are owned by the native-born. Median price of a home is $170,100.

Houston’s high ranking on the chart flies in the face of some other data in the report. LendingTree says immigrants are attracted to coastal communities. Yet Number 7, Las Vegas, is far from salty water.

However, the top five cities with the largest numbers of residence-owning immigrants are shoreline communities: Number 1, Miami, Number 2, San Jose, Number 3, Los Angeles, Number 4, San Francisco and Number 5, Riverside, Calif. The five Golden State cities have 17% or higher foreign born home ownership rates and house prices above $300,000.

Other cities in the top 10 communities for immigrant homeowners are: Number 8, New York, Number 9, Washington and Number, 10 San Diego.

The LendingTree report also highlights the economic contributions of immigrants. Economic studies generally show that immigrants boost economic growth by starting businesses, adding to the labor pool and increasing demand for housing, says the report.

A recent study examining these effects was released by Oxford University and Citi Research, a division of the financial services firm Citigroup. It estimated that economic growth from 2011 to 2016 would have been much lower without the impact of immigrants. Also, most of the post-crisis gains in the economy would not have taken place without the presence of immigrants.

The Citi study found that high-skilled immigrants are attracted to the most dynamic urban centers. The proportion of highly-skilled immigrants is also higher in the cities which put some upward pressure on home prices as a secondary effect.

Cities in America with the smallest number of foreign-born residents are:

Number 48, Cincinnati. Foreign-born home ownership, 3%; foreign-born population, 5%; median home value, $165,000. Number 49, Louisville, Ky. Foreign-born homeownership rate: 3%; foreign-born population: 6%; median home value: $168,600.

Number 50, Pittsburgh. Foreign-born homeownership rate: 2%; foreign-born population: 4%; median home value: $153,300.

Oct. 31, 2018 Realty News Report Copyright 2018