Two months after launching its successful buyer’s agent advertising campaign, Realtor.com has unveiled its next chapter—this time focusing on how buyer’s agents can be key to increasing homeownership rates in underrepresented communities.
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Home portal giant Realtor.com unveiled the second part of its buyer’s agent advertising campaign on Monday, this time focusing on the role buyer’s agents play in closing the homeownership gap in racially and economically underrepresented communities.
Mickey Newberg
“During June, Homeownership Month, we urge the industry to join us in being a champion for consumers, raising awareness and advocating for the advantages of all homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers and individuals from underrepresented communities,” Mickey Neuberger, chief marketing officer for realtor.com, said in a prepared statement. “Faced with the largest real estate affordability crisis in recent history, the last thing we should do is make it more difficult for these people to gain access to generational wealth.”
Realtor.com has partnered with Veterans United, the American Home Ownership Council, the National Association of Realtors (NAREB), the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, the National Association of Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and the Asian Real Estate Association of America (NAHREP) to create event messaging , which centralizes key housing statistics about their respective communities.
“Low-income earners are 22% more likely to be denied a loan [and] LGBTQ+ [people] 25% less likely to own a home than all Americans,” two social media posts from the campaign read. “One in four Hispanics complete the home buying process entirely in Spanish [and] Seven out of 10 veterans don’t know they qualify for a zero-down home loan.
“The gap between black and white homeownership is worse today than it was when the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968,” another post read. “If commission settlements result in increased transaction costs or reduced opportunities for buyer representation, could further limit the ability of these groups to purchase homes and exacerbate existing home ownership inequalities.”
Image source: Realtor.com
In an email interview with Inman, Newberg said buyer’s agents are more important than ever, especially for homebuyers from underrepresented communities, according to the National Association of Realtors. dollar settlement, they may have a harder time dealing with upcoming commission changes.
“The value of the buyer’s agent is being challenged within the industry, even by some of our competitors,” he said. “But nine out of 10 buyers recently said they valued their buyer’s agents and would use them again. Consumers want and need to have their own representation in complex, high-cost transactions.
“With all the changes happening in the industry, there is a real risk that vulnerable homebuyers without much experience or means may struggle to find or afford a buyer’s agent,” he added. “We want to ensure that those who are already facing challenges Buyers will not be at a greater disadvantage.”
Newberg said the campaign will go far beyond social media posts and a few ads, including an open letter written by Realtor.com and its campaign partners. this wall street journal, new york post and Washington post.
The company will continue to work with Veterans United, the American Homeownership Council, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, NAREB, NAHREP and AREAA to educate agents about fair housing and how to best serve homebuyers in underrepresented communities .
He said: “We will continue to work with these professional organizations to support underrepresented buyers in conducting similar activities and research to help agents understand the needs of buyers in different communities so that they can customize services to better meet their needs. their specific needs. “We also provide webinars, articles and success stories on diversity and inclusion so agents can stay up to date on best practices. “
“In addition, we sponsor the Realtor Fair Housing Champion Awards to help highlight the work of agents who effectively serve underrepresented groups,” he added. “Their stories hope to inspire others and provide practical examples of how to implement inclusive practices. Our efforts continue; there is much more to be done.
Neuberger said he was pleased to see how this portion of the campaign performed, as the first segment, which highlighted the 111 tasks buyer’s agents complete during a transaction, generated nearly 40 million impressions and 18,000 agent toolkit downloads.
“…as the number one real estate website trusted by professionals, it’s our responsibility to create an experience that ensures everyone has fair and equal access to housing,” he said. “It’s in our DNA.”
Email Marianne McPherson
