To cooperate with President Clinton's Initiative on Race, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has developed a comprehensive cultural diversity outreach program that will help real estate companies diversify their workplaces and improve the national association's relevance to minority real estate professionals.
Working at the same time is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to sponsor efforts to implement the concept of One America as described by the President.
NAR and HUD are undertaking a joint effort to certify real estate professionals who are trained regarding cultural diversity and outreach and have made a commitment to a set of diversity principles. The training, built on the letter and spirit of the Fair Housing Act, will provide participants with tools to build diversity outreach into their business plans and help open up markets to minorities and others who historically have had limited housing choices.
According to the Arizona Association of REALTORS® (AAR), the marketplace is quickly becoming more diverse. Immigrants and minorities will be a major source of future business for the real estate industry. According to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, minority African-Americans and Hispanics accounted for more than 28 percent of the increase in the number of homeowners in recent years. Homeownership rates among immigrants are also rising at rates such that the future growth in homeownership in the United States will be with immigrant and native born minority populations.
In response AAR is offering the One America certification as a means of training real estate agents and enhance their ability to develop clients and customers in the growing immigrant and minority population. By involving HUD, AAR is able to market the course as being HUD approved and meeting the principles outlined in One America. NAR will offer the course to nonmember licensees as well.
In addition to being better able to develop and serve this growing consumer population, the real estate professional will be able to use the new One America logo in advertising and promotional materials.
In order to be certified as a One America Real Estate Professional, the requirements are:
- Be free from Fair Housing Act violations.
- Complete the HUD-approved, NAR course on diversity in the real estate market.
- Agree to the One America diversity principles.
- Sign the certificate agreement.
AAR will begin offering the one-day program the week of August 24, 1998. For more information, contact mdiehl@realtors.org.
Published: August 12, 1998
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