A study conducted by Fannie Mae, the government-backed lending giant, found that immigrant Americans tackled the housing crisis better than native-born Americans.
The study found that home ownership among the immigrant population remained strong even during the economic depression, while ownership among resident Americans tumbled.
In fact, ownership only got stronger with time among the immigrants. They bridged the gap between them and the natives at a superfast pace between 1990 and 2000.
For the study, the researchers used data from the census bureau and tracked the transition from renting to home ownership among both the immigrant population and the native-born ones. People aged between 24-35 years were analyzed in the study as they are assumed to account for a larger share of first-time home buyers.
The research showed that homeownership among native-born Americans declined in the last decade, but it remained relatively flat among the immigrants. Also, immigrant households were up to 62.9 percent in 2010 as compared to 56.7 percent in 2000.
Fannie Mae experts explain that the longer immigrants stay in America, the stronger their financial foothold gets, which might explain why home ownership improved among the cohort.
"The length of U.S. residency is an important factor that helps to determine immigrant advancement into homeownership. However, other factors, including the prevailing economic and housing environments, may have played important roles," author of the study, Azanaw Mengistu, was quoted by US News.
"The foreign-born population in the U.S., as they live longer in the U.S., we know they will become homeowners. Continued study of how and when they will become homeowners is something we didn't look at, but it's an important topic that should be covered because we know they will provide to homeownership demand in the future," Mengistu added.
Of late, immigrant home ownership and their property investment decisions have become a topic of interest for economists. The experts believe that immigrants could help haul the housing market and help boost demand for homes in the country, the Washington Post reports.
"Understanding the immigrant home ownership experience is important for several reasons," Josh Miller, an economist at the National Association of Builders, was quoted by the Realtormag.
"The first is that immigrants are projected to be a significant part of home ownership growth in the near future. Secondly, home ownership among this group leads to positive spillovers, including wealth accumulation and community involvement. Finally, learning about the immigrant home ownership experience may shed light on the broader housing market."
