NAR has recently added a new certification program for REALTORS to help them better serve the increasingly diverse minority market. Entitled "At Home With Diversity: One America," the course aims to equip real estate professionals with information and marketing skills needed to offer home ownership opportunities to the growing number of multicultural and minority buyers.

The housing diversity training program was developed this year by NAR in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Initial plans were announced last November by HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo during the association's annual convention.

According to research from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, minorities were responsible for 42 percent of the overall rise in homeownership between 1994 and 1997. However, the report notes that minority households still make up only 17 percent of all home owners.

"This course is an excellent way to provide more home ownership opportunities to people who might otherwise be closed out of the market," says E'toile Libbett, chair of NAR's Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity Committee.

NAR is administering the course through training sessions offered by local boards and associations of Realtors. NAR is granting certificates to real estate agents who successfully complete the training, subject to HUD's review of their eligibility.

Published: September 18, 1998

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