Immigrants have always played a major role in the health of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Many arrive here from countries with established traditions of homeownership. Owning a house can be a step to further success -- as collateral for starting a business, for example.

But it takes awhile for things to happen -- often five years or more from the time of arrival in America -- for a newcomer to save enough money for a down payment and closing costs.

Which means the immigrants who arrived on our shores in the 1990s are beginning to look for houses. But these newcomers -- the largest wave of immigrants since the early 20th century -- often come cultures that are beyond the experience of the mainstream American real estate agent.

For example, a newcomer from mainland China typically has traditions and expectations that differ, often greatly, from other groups from Asia.

Michael Lee, a California Realtor and expert on multicultural home buyers, has made it his business to learn the differences among these groups as well as among people from Latin America.

Lee is sharing his expertise in a book, Selling to Multicultural Home Buyers (New Home Specialist, $34.95), which provides insights into things veteran real estate agents may not think about.

Such as eye contact.

While steady eye contact in America is designed to show honesty and sincere interest in what the other party is saying, Vietnamese and Koreans divert eye contact to show respect for authority, Lee said. People from the Middle East maintain eye contact for very long periods, because they believe "quite literally, that eyes are the window to the soul."

How quickly immigrants buy homes after arrival is determined by their financial situation, which is often determined by the reasons they left their country.

According to Lee, many Japanese, Chinese and Korean immigrants come to the United States because there is more economic opportunity here. They may arrive with enough money to buy a house without taking out a mortgage.

"The savings rate in Asia is much higher than in America,'' Lee said. "Since most of them owned houses at home, they have the proceeds of the sale to use for starting a business or buying a house here."

Before anyone is permitted to immigrate to the United States, the law requires proof of self-sufficiency or that someone here will be responsible for them, Lee said. Their own countries have laws that restrict the amount of money that can be taken out of the country, but the United States has few restrictions on how much can be brought in.

On the other hand, many Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians -- who came here for political rather than economic reasons -- do not arrive with lots of cash. And because they came from cash or barter economies -- owing money in Asia is considered shameful, Lee said -- these Southeast Asians often need to be convinced that they can afford to buy houses without having to put the full amount on the table at once.

Tron H. Lam, a native of Vietnam and an agent with Re/Max 2000 in Philadelphia, said many Southeast Asians owned houses in their native countries, but that the process was much less complicated than a typical home sale in America, which can often involve 16 different people and pages of paperwork.

There are also language barriers involved, as well as suspicion of institutions -- such as governments and banks -- that were often the agents of oppression in their homelands.

There is also fear among some immigrants that they won't be able to buy in certain neighborhoods because of discrimination, Lee said. A Fannie Mae survey said this fear is almost twice as great among immigrants as among all adults.

Hispanics have real estate traditions influenced by the economies and politics of their native lands. But whether the process is familiar or not, it is hardly a barrier to buying a house.

There are some special needs, of course. Just like immigrants in other periods in American history, many Hispanic families may be larger than native-born ones because they often include grandparents and other relatives, according to Census Bureau surveys.

Another issue for immigrants buying homes is the perception among many native-born real estate agents that these buyers prefer to work with agents from their own ethnic group.

"That's not necessarily the case," Lee said. "Many multicultural clients prefer to keep their finances secret. If they work with someone in their group, they fear that the person will spread that information to others in the group."

For more articles by Al Heavens, please press here.

Published: January 17, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Al Heavens writes about real estate and home repair and improvement. He is the author of What No One Ever Tells You About Renovating Your Home: Real-Life Advice For Hassle-free, Cost-Effective Remodeling.