Casitas of Villa Victoria, IBA’s affordable housing community, blend Boston’s architecture with Puerto Rico’s mountaintop-houses style.

When NALCAB spent time in Boston to meet with members and inform/update them on the latest affordable housing news, we were visiting a place that had seen an explosion of its Latino population. Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the population in Massachusetts. To add, Latinos produced $70.4 billion in the Growth State Product for Massachusetts in 2023. This represented a 75% increase since 2014 (Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, 2025). 

However, Latinos lag behind in homeownership and in growing their small businesses, among other economic indicators. IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción is meeting this moment through partnership, capacity building, and foresight. In a city like Boston, where homeownership costs keep rising and traditional pathways to opportunity are narrowing, IBA has collaborated with NALCAB and TD Bank to strengthen residents’ power to build prosperity and generational wealth through financial education and homeownership. 

The TD Ready Challenge has been vital in expanding IBA’s Financial Empowerment Program, which supports low- and moderate-income families who live in affordable housing units in creating SMART financial goals, building credit, reducing debt, and increasing savings. In addition to these individual tools, the possibility of affordable housing legislation like the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 adds optimism to an issue central to Americans. 

Latino families are achieving their dreams through homeownership. IBA supports this vision by helping them navigate the cumbersome maze of homeownership by connecting them to external resources, coaching them through the process from beginning to end, and providing down payment assistance. 

Community pride is displayed at Festival Betances 2025

In the next decade, IBA is looking to create more housing in their existing footprint by converting an underutilized office building into homes for families. Furthermore, they envision expanding housing creation to neighborhoods outside of the City of Boston. 

Affordable Housing in Action – in the video below, NALCAB members in the Boston area share how they’re working to expand access to affordable housing.