
Despite the pandemic, Latinos drove growth in the homeownership sector for the sixth consecutive year. Next week, NAHREP releases its 11th annual State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, and without giving too much away, the report is a blockbuster. The youth, work ethic, and vitality of the Latino market is burning up the market, and some believe this is only the beginning. Last month, the Urban Institute and Washington DC think tank put out a report that says that Latinos will account for more than 70% of homeownership growth in America over the next twenty years. Yes, you read that correctly…70%! Population growth, household formations, and age are the largest factors, but Latinos have also shown they are willing to migrate to wherever the jobs and affordable housing exist most. Markets like Texas, Minnesota, and North Carolina are seeing some of the largest surges in Latino homeownership. The Urban Institute also predicts that homeownership rates for every other demographic will actually go down over the next twenty years. It makes you wonder what the U.S. economy would look like without Latinos.
Excuse me while I rant, but I’d love to have five minutes with anti-immigrant, anti-Latino fools like Tom Cotton, Tucker Carlson, and Ann Coulter so I could tell them to their faces that they should be on their knees thanking Latinos for what they are giving this country. During the pandemic, while those idiots sat in their ivory towers, millions of Latino front-line workers were working in healthcare, keeping our infrastructure moving, and ensuring our food supply kept flowing. Can you think of anything more patriotic than that?
The only thing that makes our economy different than countries like Japan and those in Europe, where aging populations have left their economies stagnant with no growth in sight, is our Latino sector. Welcome to the New Mainstream.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.
When we invited Gary Vaynerchuk to NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE in 2021, I was mostly relying on input from others. Several members loved his content, but the little I saw online left me underwhelmed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation at our event, particularly his comments about toxic employees, which he says to dump with impunity.
Selling during a downturn required a more strategic approach, but the opportunities for growth and expansion are available to the savviest of companies. Here are some of the best ideas I’ve read about.
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors said “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.” A few days later the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” and the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”