(September 6) --    One out of every five immigrant homeowners since 1997 has been a foreign-born first-time homebuyer and that the overall homeownership rate for foreign-born Americans has reached 50 percent, a study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University shows.

In comparison, the homeownership rate for native-born whites is 75 percent.

The study, "New Americans, New Homeowners: The Role and Relevance of Foreign-Born First-Time Homebuyers in the U.S. Housing Market," also reports that foreign-born first-time homebuyers tend to make larger down payments than native-born Americans; and they also tend to devote more of their income to the recurring monthly costs of owning a home.

Center Director Nicolas P. Retsinas says immigrants will play a larger role in the housing market in the years to come, with 10 million immigrants reaching their peak homebuying years during the next decade.

Source: Inman News Features Online (09/05/02)