UnidosUS Convenes Housing Leaders and Members of Congress to Launch New HOME Initiative in Orlando

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HOME aims to create four million new Latino homeowners nationwide by 2030

From left to right: Gianncarlo Cifuentes, Vice President of News at Univision Orlando and Tampa, Ashon Nesbitt, CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9); Laura Arce, Senior Vice President at UnidosUS, Traci Blue, Director at Bright Community Trust, and Dr. Fernando Rivera, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida.

Orlando, FL – October 16, 2023 – On Monday, Orlando 16, 2023, UnidosUS unveiled its new HOME (Home Ownership Means Equity) initiative in Orlando, Florida. HOME aims to create four million new Latino homeowners nationwide by 2030 and UnidosUS’s Orlando HOME launch marks the fourth of five launches in the initiative’s first cohort. As part of the launch, representatives from the public, private, social, and academic sectors came together for a roundtable discussion at Ana G. Mendez University to discuss the importance of expanding Latino homeownership in Orlando and throughout the country. The event also included a keynote address from U.S. Representative Darren Soto (FL-9).  

As part of the HOME initiative, UnidosUS is investing in promising markets throughout the country to catalyze Latino homeownership. Through cross-sector partnerships, HOME will help Orlando residents create pathways to homeownership, build their credit, afford a down payment, overcome language barriers, avoid predatory lending, and get approved for sustainable mortgages.  

“The reality is there is a lot of money to be made in apartments and luxury homes, and not as much in starter homes. So that is one of the challenges that we have to work on on the federal, state, and local level for new houses that are below the median value…so that young people can have a chance,” said Representative Darren Soto. “We have to make sure our private sector folks and our local governments are working with our nonprofits who are doing this work.”  

Housing and Education Alliance and Centro de Ayuda Hispana, longtime UnidosUS Affiliates, have been selected to support several elements of HOME in Orlando. Housing and Education Alliance provides services in financial literacy, homeownership education, and housing counseling. Originally started to support both families losing their homes to foreclosure and families seeking their first home, Centro de Ayuda Hispana provides resources through an expanding network of community services. 

“In America, owning a home is an essential step toward upward economic mobility, but systemic inequities like discriminatory banking practices, predatory lending, and language barriers particularly impact prospective Latino homeowners,” said Laura Arce, SVP for Economic Initiatives at UnidosUS. “Increasing Latino homeownership is not only good for Latinos, it also strengthens the nation’s economy as a whole. That is why we are eager to launch the HOME Initiative in Orlando and work with our Affiliates in our pursuit of creating four million new Latino homeowners nationally by 2030.”  

The roundtable discussion was kicked off with remarks by Ana G. Mendez University Metro Orlando Campus Director Suheily Martinez and Latino Leadership, Inc.’s Executive Director Marucci Guzmán. After keynote remarks from U.S. Representative Darren Soto (FL-9), the roundtable covered the challenges prospective Latino homebuyers face in Orlando; the importance of expanding Latino homeownership; and HOME’s role in accelerating systemic changes and opportunities that encourage Latino wealth-building and economic development in Orlando and the broader U.S. economy. 

The discussion was moderated by Gianncarlo Cifuentes, Univision Vice President, Regional News Director for Univision Orlando and Tampa, and featured a group of expert panelists and speakers, including:  

  • Laura Arce – Senior Vice President for Economic Initiatives, UnidosUS 
  • Dr. Fernando Rivera – Professor of Sociology, University of Central Florida 
  • Ashon Nesbitt – CEO, Florida Housing Coalition  
  • Traci Blue – Director of Strategic Community Initiatives, Bright Community Trust 

To conclude the event, Wells Fargo Senior Vice President Ruben Barrales shared remarks on the importance of Latino homeownership and reinforced the need for private sector support of the HOME initiative’s goals.  

Orlando is a promising housing market for mortgage-ready Latinos, who continue to make strong and consistent contributions to the city’s population, labor force, and economic growth against all odds.  

  • Between 2010 and 2020, Florida’s Latino population accounted for over half (53.8%) of the state’s total population growth. At the same time, the number of Latino homeowners only increased by 11.2%.  
  • As of 2021, Latinos represent 36.4% of the total population in their prime homebuying years in Orlando (ages 25 to 44). The Latino share of the prime homebuying age population has been marginally increasing each year for the past several years.  
  • The numbers of Latino homeowners and households in Orlando have both risen significantly since 1990. As of 2021, Orlando had over 279,000 Latino households and over 144,000 Latino homeowners.  
  • The Latino homeownership rate in Orlando has risen over the past three decades, from 50.1% in 1990 to 51.9% in 2021. But it still significantly lags the white homeownership rate, by over 22 percentage points as of 2021.  
  • The median household income for Latino households in Orlando has been rising, reaching $76,351 in 2021. But the median income for Latino households still lags the white median income by nearly $20,000.  
  • Latinos make up 32.9% of Orlando’s total population, the third highest city population share percentage in the state. 

The local rollout of HOME in Orlando comes on the heels of the initiative’s national launch in June 2023. Through the new national movement, UnidosUS is investing in a cohort of five initial cities slated to receive targeted grants through the HOMEownership Solutions Network to fund consumer housing counseling programs. Each community selected as part of the first cohort of the HOMEownership Solutions Network has a high Latino population, experienced UnidosUS Affiliate partners, and favorable market conditions, such as tremendous housing opportunities for prospective Hispanic homebuyers and builders to pilot scalable strategies that could increase Latino homeownership rates. In addition to Orlando, the first cohort also includes Chicago, IL; Phoenix, AZ; Houston, TX; and Stockton, CA. 

More information on the HOME initiative is available here: https://unidosus.org/homeownership/.