Minority Homeownership Up

Myrtle Beach ranks among the Top 10 growth markets in the United States for increases in the number of minorities buying homes, according to a new study.

• In 2005, 52 percent more minorities got home mortgages than in 2004 - a change that pushed the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach area to ninth in the nation in the growth of minority mortgages.

• The overall ranking means minorities are moving to the Grand Strand and becoming a larger segment of the home-buying population, experts say.

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said he isn’t aware of any specific push promoting minority home-buying, but thinks the ranking mostly reflects the breakneck pace at which the Strand is growing in population.

• “This is a good indicator that the Grand Strand has seen and continues to be a hot market for relocation. It’s no surprise that many of our new residents are minorities. But the trend is not specific to any one minority,” Dean said.

• Consumers are becoming more educated - and that has spurred many to buy homes, said William Gerald, loan officer at Atlantic Home Mortgage in Myrtle Beach.

National experts say the study indicates that real estate agents and mortgage brokers in the Myrtle Beach area are helping minorities become homeowners.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC