Home Sales

Recent trends point to an upward tick in Latino home ownership. Over the next decade, Hispanics are expected to account for 40 percent of the estimated 12 million net new U.S. households.  Coupled with the fact that HIspanics have the highest labor force participation rate (two thirds of all working-age Latinos are employed), this augurs well for the still recovering housing market. Its primary growth could come from Hispanics looking for a new home.

Gary Acosta, the Co-Founder of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, admits that Hispanics’ share of homebuying was surprising, given that they were also disproportionately affected by the subprime lending crisis. He states, “They view homeownership as a vehicle for stabilization to create a better living environment for their family and not as much as an investment”. During the third quarter of 2011, the Hispanic homeownership rate rose to almost 48 percent, accounting for more than half of the total growth in homeownership over that period.

It is also noted that one barrier to home buying for Hispanics is credit. They don’t have bad credit, as the article emphasizes, they just have little credit. Once Latinos have access to credit, their homeownership rate should continue to rise.

Starbucks in Mexico City

Fresh off my latest business trip to Mexico City, where the main purpose was to cement Alcance Media Group’s physical presence in Mexico City, the learnings from the trip are still sinking in.

Building on our experience working with Mexico-based companies from our base in San Francisco, from a significant number of hours on Skype with job applicants by our Director of Sales, to choosing Holy Week to have final in person interviews, our experience grows with each trip.

For those of you in the digital advertising space who are interested in working with companies in Mexico City here are some quick tips to get you started:

• Don’t expect to be the only one with an iPad…..friendly, knowledgeable and technologically savvy is what you should expect to encounter.  There is a reason that Mexico is one of the top countries in Latin America for Doing Business and that Latin America is on the rise.

• Security: Mexico City is a massive city and has issues like any other; however, it should not be lumped in with the news coverage of the northern border cities. Standard precautions (ie: leave your bling at home and stay alert) are sufficient, but while you get used to the city, work with your hotel to get guidance.

• If you think that you have experienced bad traffic in the U.S. (possible exception for Los Angeles or actually trying to drive cross town in New York City at rush hour) you haven’t.  Plan accordingly.

• Where to stay:  Unless all of your meetings are in Colonia Santa Fe, I recommend staying at the Hotel Camino Real Polanco  or City Express Reforma El Angel, both of which are centrally located with plenty of food options within walking distance and are quite secure

• Plan time to get to know and enjoy the city. From taco stands on the street to logging into your email in some of the nicest Starbucks ever, to Argentinian restaurants, there will never be a shortage of food and drink options during your trip.

• A great place to start your research of the digital landscape is to join IAB Mexico and attend a couple conferences such as IAB’s Connecta (be prepared for a little tequila with your clients….and to be there on time the next morning) or Portada’s Latin American Media and Marketing Summit in Miami.

• Digital media consumption in Mexico is growing and so are the numbers of agencies working in the digital realm.  If you are even remotely contemplating entering the market here are the top 5 digital agencies according to the magazine Merca 2.0. 1.  Havas Digital 2. Wunderman 3. Ingenia Group 4. Lead2Action 5. BrandDigital.

Oh and just in case I forgot to mention it, while the traffic may be tame and the hotel rooms cheap, it is important to understand that by Thusday (if not earlier) of Holy Week most of the city’s 20 million people are more than likely in Acapulco or other resorts.