RSS FeedImmigration Law Affects Housing Market
Immigration Law Affects Housing Market
In the state of Georgia, a new law has been passed. This may turn out to be quite surprising to the mortgage and real estate markets, which have been serving the Hispanic immigrants within the state.
Although this new legislation does not straight out prohibit the right of residence ownership to the immigrants who have not acquired legal status, but a lot of Latinos are not certain if they want to change the situation of their homeownership.
This law, which is intended to come into effect on July 2007, will make it difficult for undocumented homeowners to reside within the state of Georgia.
Companies that have been holding contracts within the state have been necessitated to confirm with the immigration status of their employees. If ever an employer knows about the status of an applicant but still hires him or her, then there will be penalties.
The programs of the government are not included with this new law. On the other hand, the penal system is going to force the status of these undocumented individuals.
These immigrants, who have not acquired a legal status, are seen as among the most important group of new consumers. This implies that they have been owing a lot to the huge income of various markets. They have been able to apply for loans, since a lot of lenders grant them the permission to use their ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number, instead of the Social Security Number.
The total number of homes, which have been bought by Hispanic purchasers within Atlanta, GA, has grown up to 5,000 units within a span of five years. This statistical record has been provided by the act on Home Mortgage Disclosure.
The state of Georgia serves as a home to a lot of Latinos. It ranks second among the other states of the country which have rapidly increasing Hispanic population. However, with the passing of the new legislation, several of them have canceled the contracts of their purchase. Latino home sellers have taken out their properties from the market listing, prompting a lot of possible home buyers to search for alternatives.
This new legislation is affecting more than the Latino immigrants. This would also mean billions of loss for the tax revenue. On the other hand, the number of possible purchasers of services and commodities is going to lessen by millions. Think of the great loss that the market will experience the moment this law takes into effect. The following will show how big the consequences will be:
l Immigrant businesses and households is paying a total amount of $162 billion to the state, local and federal taxes each year.
l Immigrants, who are not documented, impart $300 billion each year, to the GNP of the country.
l Homeownership rate within the nation is 42.7 million, with the Latinos making up 50% of this during the last quarter of the year 2005.
l The labor force of the country is comprised of 13% foreign workers, while 20% are employed within the service industry.