The idea of a home of one's own has long been glorified as the American dream for generations. Immigrants have long clamored for a piece of the proverbial pie, and contemporary foreigners from South and Latin America continue the history.
However, a study done by the Pew Hispanic Center found that while America is a cultural melting pot, foreclosure rates are not. According to multiple regression analysis of foreclosure rates by county the rates are actually strongly correlated with the size of the immigrant population in a county. The larger the share of immigrants in a county, the more foreclosures there are.
Foreclosure rates are also not color-blind. Foreign born Latinos account for a far greater share of foreclosures than any other immigrant group.
While there are many potential reasons for this, there is not one direct cause for this. Maybe immigrants are just riskier borrowers. Another possibility raised by the Pew Hispanic Center is that immigrants may have been attracted to the boomiest areas of the countries. The study said that housing booms, in particular, may be especially good at attracting immigrants because they have many low-skill.
Another potential reason cited by Lora Mwaniki-Lyman, a research economist for the Eller School of Business Management, is that immigrants may not be as well versed in legality, and can be easily mislead by the complex contracts. They are also not as able to find legal help, due to costs and language barriers.
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