Addressing the Unique Needs of Each Client

Some real estate professionals have already developed thriving businesses by addressing the needs of foreign-born and minority customers.

“If you intend to be in business, you have to understand that this is an international workplace,” says Robin Mueck, CRB, co-owner and chief executive officer of Heritage Texas Properties in Houston. Since its inception, Heritage has focused on working with Houston companies that are relocating employees from other parts of the country, as well as the world, Mueck says.

Mueck and her associates do more than help employees find homes. For instance, they may help an overseas relocation employee figure out which inoculations his or her children will need, and the steps needed to register a car in the United States.

Not surprisingly, Heritage invests heavily in training and education in order to offer these services. There’s a payoff, however. Heritage is the largest independent real estate firm in Houston, says Mueck, with sales approaching $1 billion.

Admittedly, a focus on different ethnic markets isn’t entirely new. In the late 1980s, a number of real estate practitioners reached out to non-English-speaking markets. “But, much of it was driven from a social justice perspective,” says John Wong, San Francisco-based broker-associate with Prudential California Realty and president of the Asian Real Estate Association of America.

That’s no longer the case. “The drive (to reach these markets) in the last four to five years comes from the business model, and recognizing that this is where the market is,” Wong says.

A look at recent changes in homeownership rates illustrates the shifts. According to U.S. Census data, from 1994 to 2003, homeownership among white-non-Hispanic households rose 7.7 percent from 70 to 75.4 percent. In contrast, the homeownership rate among African Americans jumped 13.7 percent, from 42.3 to 48.1 percent. The rate for Hispanic homeowners grew 13.3 percent, from 41.2 to 46.7 percent.

To be sure, the larger gains in minority homeownership rates reflect the smaller numbers from which they started. Even so, the number of minority homeowners jumped by 4.4 million during the 1990s, reaching 12.5 million in 2000, according to the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Working effectively with foreign-born and minority residents requires real estate professionals to avoid making assumptions about these potential customers, says Ida Freimer, CRS, GRI, broker-owner of Internet Real Estate in Dover, Mass. Between 50 percent and 75 percent of Freimer’s clients are immigrants or minorities. Freimer herself is foreign-born, having emigrated from Poland in 1987.

For instance, many Asian American buyers, even those living on the East Coast, where older homes are in high demand, prefer newer houses, says Freimer. And, different ethnic groups bring their own perspectives to the home-buying process. For instance, “cul-de-sacs are very American,” says Freimer. Many foreign-born homebuyers prefer homes on traditional streets.

To reach these markets, firms may want to hire people that already are familiar with the culture and even speak the language, Wong says. Some companies may purchase other companies that have been working in emerging markets. To date, many of the companies focusing on minority markets were smaller and independently owned.

Danette O’Neal, CRS, CRB, broker-owner of Coldwell Banker Danette O'Neal, REALTORS®, in New Orleans, is one example. Just about all the clients that O’Neal and her 62 sales associates have served since O’Neal started the firm in 1999 are members of minority groups.

Many also come with credit problems or lack a credit history. O’Neal often must help her clients improve their financial situation before they can begin looking for a home. Her firm offers classes on consumer finance topics like balancing a checkbook, budgeting, and investing. “After we do all that, we’re ready to sell them a house,” O’Neal says. “So, it takes us longer to earn our money.”

Still, O’Neal’s efforts appear to be paying off. Last year, the company had a sales volume of $44 million. Another sign of O’Neal’s success is her decision to affiliate with real estate giant Coldwell Banker, which she did in early April. “They were looking for an urban company that dominates an urban market,” O’Neal says.

The rewards also include the intangible. O’Neal and her colleagues often help families that have lived in public housing or been victims of abusive relationships experience homeownership for the first time.

“We’re changing lives, not just selling houses,” she says.

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