NATIONAL NEWS

As a Real Estate professional, if you have not yet worked with a client from a different ethnic background, chances are high that you will at some point in the near future, especially if you work in a major city. Homebuyers and sellers of various ethnicities are fueling today’s Real Estate market and will continue to grow in the upcoming decades.

Allison Vela, a New York City Real Estate agent, places ads in Spanish and English every time she posts a listing. Her voicemail greeting is recorded in both Spanish and English, and her marketing materials are available in both languages as well. “New York is a multilingual city and you’ll do better in any business if you capture as many markets as you can,” she says. “The Latino community is buying more homes than ever so it is an excellent market to focus on, especially when sales are otherwise slow.”

The potential for growth is one reason agents across the country are interested in attracting immigrant clients. According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, some 33.5 million foreign-born residents live in the United States, making up 12 percent of the country’s total population. The majority of immigrants—53 percent—are from Latin America, 25 percent are from Asia, and 14 percent are from Europe, with the remaining 8 percent born in other regions of the world.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has called immigrants “a major source of new housing demand in the years and decades to come,” saying that minorities—many of whom are immigrants—will account for nearly two-thirds of household growth from 2000 to 2010. However, the homeownership rate of immigrants continues to trail that of native-born residents by as much as 30 percent, according to recent statistics from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

By tweaking your business to target this growing niche, you can boost sales in today’s slow market while helping foreigners achieve their dreams in the Real Estate market. Many Real Estate companies have capitalized on the growing number of immigrant homebuyers, using a variety of strategies to win new clients and help them buy homes. But bridging the language and cultural gaps can be a challenge.

Fortunately, simply learning about different cultures and characteristics is one of the biggest steps to success. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) offers a diversity training and certification program for agents who work with different ethnicities. And there are a variety of ethnic associations and groups that provide education and support to agents.

The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) membership includes Real Estate, mortgage and housing-related professionals that serve the Asian/Pacific-American market. According to AREAA, for the Asian/Pacific American population, common barriers to home ownership include language, lack of knowledge of the home-buying process, unverifiable income, lack of credit, and distrust of Real Estate professionals. AREAA teaches its members to help clients overcome these barriers.

According to Praveen Sharma, Marketing and Initiative Manager for AREAA, the organization focuses primarily on education, training and networking. “The Asian market is a great one to capture right now because many Asians have the means to purchase homes,” he says. “We give our members training and networking opportunities that provide clear direction on how to capture this market.

“One of our most popular courses teaches agents how to reach out to the Asian market and how to understand the differences in culture,” says Praveen. “This way, they can cater their sales and marketing strategies to this target market.

“In the Asian market, one of the biggest issues is a lack of understanding about how the credit system works,” he says. “Our courses help agents understand the unique concerns of this community and cater to a more diverse market.”

Praveen points out that associations like AREAA are critical for agents who work with different cultural groups, as they provide invaluable networking connections. “AREAA provides lots of great networking opportunities. On our Web site, you can use an online directory to look up other members. For example, you can find lenders that specialize in the Asian market. If you don’t speak Korean and have a client that requests a Korean agent, you can use the directory to connect with a Korean agent. And we have an annual convention that gives members an opportunity to connect with other members from around the world.”

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) offers similar educational tools and networking forums for agents who serve the Hispanic community. For opportunities related to the African American community, agents look to the African American Economic Development Association of REALTORS^® and Affiliates (AAEDARA).

In addition, an increasing number of Real Estate professionals are reaching out to marketing groups that cater to specific ethnic groups. According to Brian Requarth, President of Colconnect, a Hispanic Marketing agency that caters exclusively to Real Estate-related businesses, Real Estate brokers are beginning to realize just how important it is to work with buyers and sellers of different ethnicities, especially Latinos. While there is a large gap in immigrant homeownership, Brian believes that this gap can be closed if Real Estate professionals focus on providing education in different languages about the home-buying process and financing opportunities.

“Our main focus is providing bilingual Real Estate Web sites,” says Brian. “Many members of the Latino community search online in Spanish but most Real Estate materials are only available in English. By providing educational materials and resources to your customers in their native language, you’re helping them make a better decision and understand the opportunities available to them.”

Brian lived in Latin America for five years, during which time he learned a lot about the cultural differences. “For example, in terms of mortgage, there are many cultural distinctions,” he says. “Interest rates in Columbia are way higher and you need to put more money down than you would in the United States. It is important to help people understand how the home-buying process and credit system works in the U.S. We provide a free resource (www.vivareal.us) to help buyers and sellers learn everything they need to know about the Real Estate market.”

The bottom line is that while learning a new language—or even just a few words of a language—can open many doors to an immigrant niche, it is no longer enough. Forward-thinking Real Estate professionals are taking the time to learn about the nuances and cultural differences in specific populations, in an effort to grow their Real Estate businesses and make the American dream a reality for these groups.