Native and foreign born home ownership facts.

The California Association of Realtors shares some helpful home ownership insight on the income effect of native born and foreign born homeowners.

Income Effect on Home Ownership – Between the foreign born and native born population, those born in the U.S have the advantage of established networks, and no language barrier to have a higher median household income. Accordingly, the native born population is more likely to own a home than the foreign-born population. 

Furthermore, a large income gap exists between the foreign-born who are naturalized citizens and those who are not. Those who are U.S citizens nearly have twice the median household income of those who are not citizens. Numerous factors such as language barriers, lack of network and difficulty in obtaining a mortgage can account for the large income gap between the two categories of the foreign born population. Accordingly, the trend follows in home ownership rate.

Naturalized immigrants had a home ownership rate of 63 percent in 2011 in the state, while non U.S citizen immigrants had a mere 28 percent rate. Interestingly, if only comparing the native-born and the naturalized foreign-born, the latter had a higher home ownership rate than the former in 2011.

home ownershipLength of Stay –  Examining immigrants by their length of stay suggests that the longer an immigrant lives and assimilates in the U.S, their likelihood of home ownership increases.  In 2011, immigrants who have been living in the country for more than 21 years have a home ownership rate that surpasses U.S-born citizens. Comparatively, immigrants who have been in the U.S for less than 11 years are two-third less likely to own a home.

Immigrants who have had more than 10 years of residency in the country on average earn nine percent more than those who have entered in the year 2000 or later. For those with more than 20 years of residency, on average earn more than 20 percent than those who entered after 1990, and about 30 percent more than immigrants entered in the year 2000 or later.

As an immigrant increases their length of stay, they become more assimilated, increase the expansion of their network, and gain more experience in the local area. Therefore, length of stay increases skill acquisition, raising their average income and thereby making home ownership more financially feasible.