The National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) is meeting on Oct. 17-19 in Palm Springs for what is expected to be the largest LGBT+ and allied real estate event in history.
NAGLREP advocates for the rights of the LGBT+ community in housing along with shining a light on the economic power and influence LGBT+ are having on the real estate business. This work earned the group runner-up honors in the Inman Innovator Awards in the MLS/Association category.
The 10th anniversary celebration will be held at the Riviera Resort and Spa where NAGLREP is expecting more than 700 to attend the group’s annual conference. NAGLREP has lined up nearly 40 speakers, including LGBT+ icons Madison Hildebrand, Cleve Jones, U.S. Congressman Mark Takano and emcee Alec Mapa.
Jones is one of most influential leaders of the LGBT+ community, having co-founded the AIDS Foundation in 1983 and the AIDS Memorial Quilt: The Names Project. His book, When We Rise, was the basis of the recent ABC miniseries by the same name that chronicled the rise of LGBT+ activism.
He will be joined by Congressman Takano (D-CA), co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, who will provide insight into Capitol Hill discussions on outlawing housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Hildebrand, who heads The Malibu Life team, will share insight into his return to the original Million Dollar Listing and his “Bravolebrity” roots, while Mapa, a noted comedian, will emcee the event.
A trio of real estate franchise CEOs, Sherry Chris (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate), Gino Blefari (HSF Affiliates) and Anthony Hitt (Engel & Völkers) will also attend along with noted industry speakers Seth Price and Garry Wise.
NAGLREP, which has more than 1,500 members, has seen an upswing in LGBT+ activity in homeownership since Jim Obergefell, a former Coldwell Banker West Shell agent in Cincinnati and NAGLREP member, won his 2015 landmark Supreme Court case that made Marriage Equality the law of the land.
NAGLREP’s recent LGBT Real Estate Report showed that 47 percent of NAGLREP members believe LGBT+ couples are buying more homes than prior to the decision and 46 percent believe the entirety of the LGBT+ community is more interested in homeownership.
The increase in LGBT+ marriages is impacting elsewhere as nearly 57 percent of NAGLREP members are reporting an increase of LGBT+ with children, giving credence to why 29 percent believe that more LGBT+ will move out of the urban centers.
The study also showed that the LGBT+ community desires larger and better homes. Nearly half of surveyed members report that of their LGBT+ clients, move-up buyers will dominate down-sizers by an almost three-to-one margin in the near future.
This trend may have significant impact on the real estate industry considering Witeck Communications has reported the LGBT+ community has almost $1 trillion in annual buying power.
Learn more and register for the National LGBT+ Real Estate Conference by visiting naglrep.com/conference2017.
