Businesses lack Latino awareness

Hispanic households in the Mid-Valley have more than $1 billion worth of combined spending power.

So why isn't anyone going after their business?

That was the question posed to an audience of business people Tuesday at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.

The topic of the forum was the result of the Latino Consumer Awareness Profile (LaCAP), a recent survey of 300 Hispanic households between Salem and Wilsonville asking which businesses came to mind first in 36 different business categories.

The survey was conducted by MindRank Research Inc., a Vancouver, Wash.-based consumer profiling firm.

What the survey showed, MindRank president Larry Messick said, was that when it comes to buying things such as new or used cars or home furnishings, or getting a home loan, the Mid-Valley's Hispanic community is largely unaware of whom to patronize.

When asked to name a car dealership, 55 percent of respondents couldn't name one, but half said they planned to buy a car in the next year, the survey showed.

Similarly, 77 percent couldn't name a home lender, and 93 percent failed to identify a real- estate agency. Yet 59 percent of the respondents said that they planned to purchase a home in the next five years.

"What it adds up to is, we as a business community have failed to bring ourselves into the minds of this segment of our community that is worth millions and millions of dollars," Messick said.

The results of the banking and home-lending question caught the attention of Dane DeSemple of Washington Mutual Bank, who was at the forum.

Messick showed that the bank, one of the nation's largest home lenders, carried a level of recognition of just 2 percent.

"I'm surprised that we weren't higher than where we were at," DeSemple said. "There's a lot of the community that's going to be switching over and becoming home buyers, which is a big deal for Washington Mutual, so that's a great opportunity for us to reach out and grab some of that market."

Messick said the solution to bridge the gap is to market directly to Hispanics.

"Fourteen percent more of the economy is available to you if you want it," Messick told the audience. "If you don't go and get their money, somebody else will."

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.