FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAMPER RECEIVES, AT HOME WITH DIVERSITY: ONE AMERICA"
CERTIFICATION
"AT HOME WITH DIVERSITY: ONE AMERICA" PROGRAM HELPS REALTORS
TAP NEW MARKETS,
February 2002.
Renea' Camper, recently earned the "At Home With Diversity"
certification from the National Association of REALTORS. The Realtor
organization is taking a progressive step toward increased market diversity this
month by making available a certification program for real estate practitioners
to help them work successfully with underserved markets. Aptly entitled "At
Home with Diversity," the course aims to equip real estate professionals
with the tools to expand home ownership opportunities for the growing number of
multicultural and minority buyers entering the housing market
Plans for the training program, developed by NAR in cooperation with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, were announced in November of 1998
by HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo during the association's annual convention.
Specifically, the program is designed to help all real estate professionals
learn how to work with buyers of different minority groups, cultures and ethnic
backgrounds, and to encourage more people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to
become real estate practitioners. The need is clear: our market is changing. If
we want to expand our business, we must be able to communicate with and relate
to all buyers and sellers, regardless of ethnic and cultural differences.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that more than 800,000 immigrants entered the
United States in 1996, constituting one-third of the total increase in the U.S.
population. Moreover, younger immigrants are moving up the housing ladder more
quickly than their predecessors. According to research from the Joint Center for
Housing Studies at Harvard University, the home ownership rate for immigrants in
the age group 25 to 34 -- considered the prime home buying years -- jumped
from 17.6 percent to 39.1 percent from between 1990 and 1996.
"At Home With Diversity" is an excellent way to provide more home
ownership opportunities to people who might otherwise be closed out of the
market. To keep our industry and our communities healthy, we must keep looking
for ways to help more lower- to middle-income Americans -- including
"new" Americans -- become homeowners. Expanding our multicultural and
minority outreach is part of the Realtor organization's overall effort to have
our industry be more responsive to the markets we serve.
The
National Association of Realtors is administering the course through training
sessions offered by local boards and associations of Realtors, as well as firms
and franchises. NAR is granting certificates to real estate agents who
successfully complete the training, subject to HUD's review of their
eligibility. Agents who have been found by a court to have violated the fair
housing act will not be eligible to receive a certificate.
It should be emphasized that the certification program is voluntary, not
mandatory, and that it encourages -- rather than forces -- market outreach. In
other words, this is a carrot, not a stick.
The certification will serve as a mark to indicate extra effort and training to
work with all home buyers. This is a great opportunity for us. Working with all
races and ethnic groups is not just the right thing to do. It makes good
business sense. Persons from many different racial and ethnic groups are
becoming major players in the housing market.
The certification program goes hand-in-hand with a cooperative effort by the
Clinton administration and more than 60 national housing organizations to keep
the nation's home ownership rate on the rise. The purpose of the effort, called
"National Partners in Home Ownership," is to increase the overall home
ownership rate. Although the nation's overall home ownership rate is at an
all-time high, the home ownership rate for minority and ethnically diverse
households is, by comparison, notably lower. Expanding home ownership
opportunities to minority and culturally diverse households is crucial to
reaching and surpassing the home ownership goal.
Part of NAR's participation in the National Partners in Home Ownership
initiative involves leading the effort on market diversity. NAR's development of
the program recognizes that there is room for expansion and improvement in
making housing opportunities available to all citizens. It shows that there is a
better way.
Renea Camper says, "Let's take advantage of this opportunity to build
business and strengthen our neighborhoods. Let's become "At Home with
Diversity."
###
For More Information Contact:
Renea' Camper, Realtor
123 General Screven Way - Hinesville, GA. 31313
Tel: 912-877-9228
FAX: 912-876-4491
Internet: info@reneacamper.com
