Prudential CA/NV/TX Realty is promoting homebuying to Hispanic homebuyers in California, New Mexico, and Texas with products and services designed specificially for this underserved market.

The company is beginning in its home base -- California -- to roll out new products and services before extending them to other states.

First, the company announced a new 103 percent Loan-To-Value (LTV) loan product "designed specifically to meet the needs of Hispanic homebuyers in Northern California." The loan was developed by The Home Loan Group, a joint venture with Chase Home Finance.

"After conducting an internal study of the Hispanic market, we saw significant gaps between the type of loan products currently available and what is an underserved market," said Ed Krafchow, president of Prudential CA/NV/TX Realty. "We shared our information with The Home Loan Group and together developed a flexible, affordable loan geared to Hispanic home buying trends."

Explains Tom Borrelli, senior vice president of Chase Home Finance, "The 103 percent LTV Loan was designed to help Hispanic homebuyers, one of the youngest segments of California's population, move beyond their perceived hurdle of an 80 percent conventional loan. This is especially important in the expensive Northern California market."

California has recently announced a record homebuying affordability crisis with fewer than 19 percent of homebuyers able to buy the median-priced home, revised in February by the California Association of Realtors at $471,620.

According to the company's research, California's Hispanic homebuyer spends an average of 28 percent of their monthly gross income toward qualifying income ratio -- which includes principle mortgage, property tax and insurance (PITI) -- payments, according to California Association of Realtors' 2004-2005 State of the Housing Market report. By contrast, non-Hispanic households only devote 24 percent of their monthly gross to PITI payments.

What makes the loan unique is that it includes:

• Interest-only payments for the initial fixed 5-, 7-, or 10-year period

• Financing of 100 percent of the purchase price (plus 3 percent of closing costs) for a total first-lien LTV of 103 percent

• $650,000 total first-lien loan size at 680 FICO with 38 percent DTI (unless 700 min FICO with 41 DTI - then $500k)

• 680 and 700 minimum FICOs (DTI of 38 and 41 percent respectively)

In a related announcement, the nation's tenth largest brokerage announced the opening of the company's first Hispanic office in Redwood City, California, where every staff member, agent and the entire management team will be bilingual.

Redwood was chosen because the city has one of the fastest-growing Hispanic demographics in California's Bay Area, growing 48 percent since 1990 to comprise 32 percent of the city's population. The new office is located downtown, to coincide with other area renovations and improvement projects.