Studies show that the Hispanic real estate market is the nation's fastest-growing, but despite efforts to make the process easier, there are lots of myths and misunderstandings that block the Latino path to homeownership.

Anita Sparks-Bohn, a principal founder of CasaNuevaHouston.com , a website focusing on educating potential Latino home buyers in the Houston area on the benefits of homeownership, especially new homes, listed a few of those myths:

You need a lot of cash for the down payment and closing costs. In truth, she said, there are many programs that provide cash grants and other kinds of assistance for home buyers, so the amount of cash needed out-of-pocket is minimal. One of the services the new site provides is an extensive listing of assistance programs available to Latino home buyers in the Houston area.

A buyer must establish "traditional" credit -- and it must be perfect or nearly so. Actually, many lenders now consider "alternate lines of credit," including rent and utility payments, phone bills and car insurance payments.

You must be a U.S. citizen to buy a new home. While you must at least have started the process of gaining citizenship to qualify for government-backed loans, such as FHA loans, in truth you only need to be a legal alien resident to take out a conventional loan.

You can't get a loan if you get paid in cash, or if you can't qualify by yourself on the mortgage application. Again, not true, she said. Many lenders will take cash income into consideration, and many lenders also allow more than one person to put their names on the loan application.

Sparks-Bohn said home builders and mortgage companies also have been taking steps to welcome Latino customers and to make them feel comfortable. These measures include hiring more Spanish-speaking sales consultants, as well as translating websites and brochures into Spanish.

"Home builders and lenders are recognizing that Latinos have a way of doing business that's a little different, and they are learning to accommodate that," Sparks-Bohn. "For example, as Latinos, many of us don't have traditional forms of credit, but we have are very diligent about paying our bills. We believe in hard work, but a lot of times we get paid in cash, and so on."

CasaNuevaHouston.com is supported by advertising revenue from companies wanting to reach out to Latino home buyers, including home builders, community developers, mortgage lenders and others. Major advertisers include Centex Homes, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, and Land Tejas, developer of the Canyon Gate communities in the Houston area.

Sparks-Bohn said the Internet provided an ideal way for Latinos to learn more about the home- buying process.

"Already, over 70 percent of the general population uses the Internet as a primary resource to search for a new home, and Latinos are fast catching up to the general population in their online presence," she said. "In addition, the information and resources available to Latino home buyers is expanding so rapidly, the Internet is the best tool to keep them informed about all of the newest opportunities."

The website recognizes that the Latino market can be a lucrative one for real estate agents, but most experts believe that those agents need to get things moving by learning how to reach out to the community.

Latinos are fast becoming an economic powerhouse. Hispanics' disposable income between 1990 and 2002 increased to $17 billion, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

A study by the Pew Center for Hispanic Studies concluded that Latinos "are the principal source of new workers" in the U.S. economy. Through the ups and downs of the recent economic slowdown, Hispanic workers have managed to maintain a higher growth rate in employment than non-Hispanics.

An important factor to consider is that the average age in the United States is 35, "while the average age among Hispanics is eight years younger," the study said.

Thirty-five-year-olds in this country are typically looking to buy their second house. But because of the age difference between the total population and the Hispanic population, the real estate industry is projecting that eventually three out of five first-time home buyers will be Hispanic.

Hispanic families tend to be larger and younger than the traditional buyers. Hispanics, as has been the case with generations of immigrants from other regions, tend to pool their money to buy a house, then pool it again and again to buy others. It's a great way to keep the market humming.