January 1999
By Brenda Brown
It's no secret that our nation is becoming more and more diverse. In fact,
according to a recent study by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing
Studies minorities were responsible for 42 percent of the overall rise in
homeownership between 1994 and 1997. As are many business professionals in this
country, Realtors® are adjusting to these changes.
In November 1997, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, during the National Association of
Realtors® (NAR) annual convention, announced plans to undertake a joint effort
between NAR and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to
develop a diversity certification to certify real estate professionals who are
trained regarding cultural diversity and outreach and have made a commitment to
a set of diversity principles. "This initiative will help advance President
Clinton's goal of a nation where the door to the American Dream is open to
all," Secretary Cuomo told convention attendees.
NAR and HUD's efforts have resulted in the creation of the NAR-created,
HUD-approved "At Home with DiversitySM: One America"
diversity certification course. The training, built on the letter and spirit of
the Fair Housing Act, provides participants with tools to work with buyers of
different minority groups, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds.
As a part of NAR's comprehensive Cultural Diversity Program, the
certification is granted to licensed real estate professionals who meet
eligibility requirements and complete the NAR "At Home with DiversitySM:
One America" course. The certification signals to customers that the real
estate professional has been trained on working with diversity in today's real
estate markets, and allows the real estate professional to display NAR's and
HUD's diversity marks and logos. The certification program is open to the more
than 1.5 million real estate professionals across the nation, including those
who are not NAR members.
NAR is administering the course through training sessions offered by local
boards and associations of Realtors®. The kickoff for the "At Home with
DiversitySM: One America" diversity certification course was
August of 1998. From August through November 1998, real estate professionals
across the country taught the course during a special inaugural period, all with
the goal of opening up markets to minorities and others who historically have
had limited housing choices.
During the special inaugural period, several local Chicago Realtor®
associations participated, along with the Leadership Council for Metropolitan
Open Communities, which advocates fair housing practices. In addition, NAR
participated in the 1998 Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference, in
which the certification course was highlighted. Plans for future collaborations
with other groups, in 1999, are in the making.
Increasing its multicultural and minority outreach is part of NAR's broad
endeavor to make the real estate industry more responsive to the markets it
serves. The certification program goes together with a joint endeavor by
the Clinton Administration and more than 60 national housing organizations to
keep the nation's homeownership rate on the rise. Entitled "National
Partners in Homeownership," the purpose of the effort is to achieve an
overall homeownership rate of at least 67.5 percent by the year 2000. Increasing
homeownership opportunities to culturally diverse and minority households is
critical to achieving and exceeding the homeownership objective.
A key part of NAR's participation in the National Partners in Homeownership
initiative involves leading the endeavor on market diversity. NAR's creation of
the "At Home with DiversitySM: One America" program
recognizes that there is room for expansion and improvement in making housing
opportunities available to all citizens. In addition, the program heightens
one's awareness of their responsibility as a citizen within their community and
this nation, ultimately showing that there is a better way.
These days there is no standard plan to homeownership. Each journey is
unique. Still no journey is complete without some level of support. This is
diversity at its best.
For more information about the "At Home with DiversitySM: One
America" diversity certification course, contact NAR at 202-383-1201,
e-mail at diversity@realtors.org, or
visit the "At Home with Diversity" section of NAR's web site, located
at www.realtor.com.
The author: Brenda
Brown is the Fair Housing Policy Representative at the National Association of
Realtors® (NAR) working primarily on issues involving fair housing and
diversity. She is jointly responsible for the creation of NAR's At Home with
DiversitySM: One America" program. Ms. Brown can be reached at
the National Association of Realtors®, 700 11th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20001. Telephone: (202) 383-1099. Fax: (202) 383-7580. E-mail: bbrown@realtors.org.
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