Why Nepali Homeownership Lags—and How I’m Helping Families Buy in Austin, Texas

Why Nepali Homeownership Lags—and How I’m Helping Families Buy in Austin, Texas

My name is Roshan Budhathoki, a Nepali‑speaking real estate broker based in Manor and serving homebuyers and sellers across Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, and the greater Central Texas area.

People often find me by searching for a Nepali realtor in Austin, Texas—someone who understands both the local market and the journey our community takes to get here. This is the story of why I chose this work, and how one chart changed the way I look at every Nepali family I help.

The Slide That Stopped Me Cold

I was in Washington, D.C., at the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) National Conference, sitting in a ballroom full of real estate professionals, lenders, and housing experts.

As a member of AREAA’s National Advocacy group, I was proud to be there, representing our community and learning how policy and data shape the future of homeownership.

Then a slide appeared on the screen.

Across the slide were gray bars showing homeownership rates by Asian subgroup in the United States—Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, and more.

Near the middle was a bar labeled “Nepalese.” It sat clearly below the overall Asian average and below the national U.S. homeownership rate.

For a few seconds, the room faded away. All I could see was that one word: Nepalese.

Seeing My Community in the Numbers

Before that day, I knew that, on paper, Asian Americans overall have a homeownership rate just a bit below the U.S. average.

What that chart made painfully clear was how misleading an “overall” number can be. Some Asian subgroups enjoy homeownership rates in the high‑60s and low‑70s, while others—especially Bangladeshi and Nepali households—sit near the bottom of the list.

In one AREAA analysis, Nepalese households showed some of the lowest homeownership rates among all Asian American groups.

A separate national fact sheet from Pew, using different data, still found Nepalese homeownership trailing the broader Asian average, even as many other Asian communities gained ground.

The exact percentages changed depending on the study, but the message didn’t: our Nepali community was being left behind.

It was the first time I had seen our story on a national stage—and it was written in the language of being last.

From Kathmandu Streets to Central Texas Cul‑de‑Sacs

Staring at that bar on the screen, I wasn’t thinking about data.

I was thinking about Kathmandu, about crowded streets and childhood dreams that seemed very far from American cul‑de‑sacs in Austin or Manor.

I thought about my own journey—navigating visas, jobs, cultural shocks, and the U.S. financial system—before I ever saw the inside of a title company office.

I thought about friends and relatives in North Austin, Pflugerville, and Round Rock who had been renting for years.

They always paid on time, worked overtime, and sent money back home. But when the topic of buying a house came up, they shrugged and said, “Maybe one day. We don’t know how all that works.”

That’s what that chart represented to me: not a lack of desire, but a lack of access—to information, to representation, and to professionals who looked like us and spoke our language.

Why the Gap Exists

The reasons behind the gap are complex, but they show up in my daily conversations with Nepali clients.

We are often first‑generation immigrants, starting with no U.S. credit history, trying to understand mortgages, down payments, appraisals, and inspections—all while juggling multiple jobs and responsibilities.

The “language” of real estate can be intimidating even for native English speakers. For many Nepali families, it feels like a locked door.

At the same time, many of us live in fast‑growing, high‑cost markets like Austin, where entry‑level homes are limited, and prices move faster than savings accounts.

Research on Asian American and Pacific Islander housing shows that in expensive metro areas, first‑generation and lower‑income Asian households fall far behind similar‑income white households in homeownership.

Add in the lack of culturally familiar real estate agents and loan officers, and you get exactly what that slide showed: a Nepali community that works incredibly hard yet still lags in owning homes.

When I became a real estate agent in Central Texas, I realized I was stepping into another world where the stakes are just as high.

Buying a home in Austin, Manor, Hutto, Round Rock, Leander, Cedar Park, or Pflugerville is often the biggest financial decision a family ever makes. The contracts are long, the deadlines are tight, and the pressure can be heavy.

That day in Washington, D.C., when I saw “Nepalese” near the bottom of the homeownership chart, everything clicked.

I didn’t just want to sell houses.

I wanted to be the Nepali realtor in Austin, Texas, who could stand in the gap—explaining, translating, advocating, and walking with families from the first question to the closing table.

Turning Statistics into Keys in Hand

Today, many of my clients find me because they’re searching online for a Nepali‑speaking real estate agent in Austin, or they hear from a friend, “Call Roshan—he helped us buy our home.”

We sit together at kitchen tables in apartments across Austin, Pflugerville, Hutto, and beyond, spreading out papers and talking through every step in Nepali and English.

Sometimes that means:

Explaining that you don’t always need 20% down, and showing realistic down‑payment options.

Connecting families with lenders who understand immigrant credit histories and self‑employment income.

Going line‑by‑line through a contract so parents and grandparents feel fully included in the decision.

Guiding investors from the Nepali diaspora into Central Texas land and development opportunities that align with their goals and risk tolerance.

Every closing with a Nepali family feels like one more bar on that chart slowly rising.

It’s not just another transaction; it’s another household moving from “statistic at the bottom” to “owner with a stake in Central Texas.”

Why This Matters for the Next Generation

Homeownership is more than a mortgage payment.

It’s stability for children, a sense of belonging in a neighborhood, and the chance to build equity in one of the fastest‑growing regions in the country.

Nationally, Asian American homeownership has climbed in recent years, reaching record highs as more families become owners.

But unless we pay attention to subgroups like Nepalese households, that progress risks leaving some of us behind.

For me, advocacy doesn’t stop at the closing table.

Through AREAA and local Asian community organizations in Greater Austin, I work to make sure our story is visible in the rooms where decisions are made—so that the next reports and charts don’t just show averages, but show that Nepali families in Austin and across America are finally catching up.

An Invitation to My Nepali Community in Central Texas

If you are Nepali and living in Austin, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Hutto, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, or anywhere in Central Texas, I want you to know this:

You are not a line on a graph to me.

You are a family with a story that began in places like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Briatnagar or Jhapa and has brought you all the way to Central Texas.

Whether you are:

Renting and wondering if you could ever own in this market,

Ready to upgrade or downsize within the Austin area, or

Curious about investing in Central Texas homes or land,

I’m here as your Nepali realtor in Austin, Texas—ready to answer your questions, walk you through each step, and stand beside you when you finally hold the keys to your own home.

From Kathmandu to the closing table in Austin, this is the journey I’ve lived—and the journey I’m committed to making easier for every Nepali family who comes next.