A report by Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group predicts a real estate boom in the U.S. over the next several years as a result of the current wave of immigration. The study projected a 27% increase in the country's current housing stock by the year 2050 based on current immigration statistics.

The study found that about 1 million immigrants per year have been entering the U.S. since 1991. In 1997, nearly 10% of the U.S. population was foreign-born. California had a foreign-born population of 25%, the largest percentage of any state.

The report advises those in the real estate industry to work with ethnic communities to fully take advantage of the boom. It noted that today's immigrants don't necessarily assimilate into American culture. Instead, they form their own communities to preserve their language and culture.

The study found that 60% of the country's immigrants live in seven metropolitan areas: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. However, new pockets of immigrant communities can be found in small towns across the U.S. Immigrants flock to these towns to work in factories, food-processing plants and the retail industry.

Since the immigrants and their families will require housing, educational facilities, retail space and other commercial facilities in the future, the report encouraged those in real estate and other development businesses to build alliances with immigrant-owned companies to form innovative approaches to these industries and to bridge culture gaps.

The Ernst and Young report can be found online at http://www.gallen.com/eykl/Immigrat.htm.