Latino Decisions and impreMedia will be releasing data from a new survey focused on how the national housing crisis has impacted the Latino population on Thursday, April 7, 2011. The April survey is the second of a series of six monthly tracking polls in 2011. impreMedia is the leading Hispanic News and Information Company in the U.S. in Online and Print. impreMedia’s multi-platform offerings range from Online to Video, Social Media, Mobile, Audio, Newspapers and Magazines, including the www.impre.com portal. 25.5% of all U.S. Hispanic adults use an impreMedia network product. Its leading publications include La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York.
The Latino Decisions Tracking Poll was launched in 2010 during the midterm election and is the only on-going political tracking poll of Latino registered voters in the nation. In partnership with impreMedia, we will continue the poll through 2011 as Latino voters assess the new Congress, the President and the most important issues leading up to the 2012 presidential election.
With many industry experts predicting that home foreclosure rates in 2011 will outpace those in 2010 when a record 1 million homes were lost, this poll is highly salient. This projection is particularly troubling for Latinos, as the states likely to be most impacted by foreclosures also have large Latino populations: California, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona for example. Furthermore, several studies have indicated that home loans taken out by Latinos since 2006 have disproportionately resulted in foreclosure.
Among the results to be released on Thursday are:
_ Thinking about the current debate in Washington, D.C about addressing the housing situation in America. How much do you think the public officials take into account the housing-related issues of the Hispanic community when considering reforms?
_ Thinking about the current housing situation, who do you trust more to make the right decisions and improve housing conditions? Would you say you have more confidence in President Obama and the Democrats, or the Republicans?
_ Thinking ahead over the next year, how worried, if at all, are you that you might lose your home due to foreclosure from the bank? Are you very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not at all worried?
_ In the past, people have said that owning your own home is part of achieving the American Dream. Do you think that is the case today, that owning a home is part of the American Dream, or can you achieve the American Dream even if you never own your home?
_ Please tell me whether you approve or disapprove of each policy related to housing:
- Providing additional tax credits for first time home buyers
- Providing mortgage payment assistance to homeowners who have recently lost their jobs.
- Making it easier for banks to foreclose on a home.
- Providing $1 billion to fix up empty, run-down houses that were lost to foreclosure.
- Requiring banks to provide all financial documents in both English and Spanish if requested by a client.
- Requiring proof of legal status in order to rent or buy a home or apartment.
- Requiring banks to provide lower interest rates or reduced payments for homeowners who currently owe more than their homes are worth.
- Lowering the monthly mortgage for homeowners who don’t have enough money to pay their full mortgage payment
