Housing Costs Hurt Latino Families: Gottheimer Plans Help

You're scrolling through Zillow, dreaming of that first home for your family. You see a modest three-bedroom in Paterson—nothing fancy, maybe needs some work—and the price tag makes your coffee go cold. $400,000. For a house that sold for $180,000 just ten years ago.

Welcome to New Jersey's housing nightmare, where the American Dream has been priced out of reach for way too many Latino families.

Democratic Candidate for Governor  Josh Gottheimer has been working at the federal level to address this issue.  While other politicians talk in circles about housing, Gottheimer has actual solutions. He understands that Latino families aren't looking for handouts—we're looking for a fair shot at the American Dream our parents came here to find.

Gottheimer's approach recognizes that housing isn't just about buildings—it's about building communities where families can thrive, not just survive.

The numbers don't lie (And They're Brutal)  Statewide, New Jersey home prices have nearly doubled—rising about 90%—over the last 10 years. But here's where it gets really painful: cities like Paterson and East Orange, where many of our families call home, have seen prices more than double. 

And if you think it's slowing down? Think again. Home prices jumped 7.8% just from 2024 to 2025 alone. That's not gradual inflation—that's a rocket ship leaving working families behind on the launch pad.

Here's the gut punch: 51% of Hispanic households in New Jersey are spending over a third of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. Let that sink in. More than half of our families are one emergency away from choosing between rent and groceries.

The median income for Latino households still trails behind Anglo families by a significant margin. 

The National Low Income Housing Coalition says you're "severely cost-burdened" when housing eats up more than 50% of your income. For too many Latino families in New Jersey, that's not a statistic—it's Tuesday.

This isn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet. This is about breadwinners  working two jobs and still coming home to tell their kids they might have to move again. This is about families cramming into apartments meant for half their size because it's all they can afford. This is about kids changing schools mid-semester because rent went up $300 and there was nowhere else to go.

New Jersey needs at least 200,000 affordable rental units to meet demand. We're not even close. It's like showing up to a potluck with one casserole when you promised to feed the whole neighborhood.

When housing costs go through the roof, everything else falls apart. Kids can't focus in school when they don't know where they'll be sleeping next month. Parents carry stress that shows up in every conversation, every family dinner, every bedtime story. 

Overcrowding becomes the norm, not the exception. Privacy becomes a luxury. Stability? That's for other people's children.

The housing crisis hitting Latino families in New Jersey isn't some abstract policy debate—it's happening right now, in real time, to real families. Every month that passes without real solutions is another month of dreams deferred, families displaced, and communities scattered.

Our families didn't come to this country to spend 60% of their income on rent. They came to build something better. It's time New Jersey's housing policy caught up with New Jersey's promise.

The question isn't whether we can afford to fix this crisis. The question is: can we afford not to? LatinoVoterUSA.com has endorsed Josh Gottheimer for Governor largely based on his housing plan and his track record as a problem solver.  Polls open tomorrow at 6AM. Vote like your family's future depends on it, because it does. 

Paid by Affordable New Jersey. PO Box 6162 Lawrence Twp, NJ. This was not made with cooperation, prior consent, consultation, or at the request or suggestion of any candidate, or anyone acting on their behalf.

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