Asian American Homeownership Rises

Asian Americans have achieved the fastest increase in home ownership among minority groups since 2000, and this trend is likely to continue, according to a study by the Asian Real Estate Association of America.The homeownership rate of Asian Americans jumped from 53% in 2000 to 60% in 2004 and "their income and credit profile suggests that this growth will continue into the future," according to the study conducted by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Over half of the 14 million Asian Americans live in California, New York and Hawaii. However, the study provides information about Asian American populations in 25 metropolitan statistical areas nationwide. In many of the largest cities, over half of the Asian population is foreign-born. "Since nearly half of all Asian Americans are first-time homebuyers, AREAA believes that they will rely heavily on real estate professionals to help guide them through the complex home buying process," AREAA chairman Allen Okamoto said. Freddie Mac, the National Association of Realtors and Bank of America sponsored the AREAA/ULCA study. The Web site for the AREAA is at www.areaa.org.