In honor of National Fair Housing Month, Realogy has partnered with the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and National Association of Minority Mortgage Professionals (NAMMBA) to rollout customized fair housing training portals for each of the group’s members.
Tanya Reu-Narvaez | Credit: Realogy
“As the leader in residential real estate services in the U.S., Realogy is committed to paving the way for equality, opportunity, and fairness within our industry,” Realogy Chief People Officer Tanya Reu-Narvaez said in a prepared statement. “By expanding this valuable training opportunity through the help of our influential partners, we can multiply our force for good and unite professionals from all corners of the industry in a commitment to fair housing for all.”
Available starting April 12, the ‘Delivering the Promise of Fair Housing’ training course includes four sections that explain the importance of the Fair Housing Act and its 53-year history, modern housing discrimination issues, and real estate professionals’ duties to create a fair and equitable renting, purchasing and lending experience for all Americans, regardless of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status.
The course ends with an invitation to sign the Stand Up for Fair Housing Pledge, which includes six tasks ranging from continuing fair housing training and education to providing excellent service to all clients and having zero tolerance for housing discrimination.
AREAA, NAHREP, NAAMBA and LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance will send members links to access the organization’s custom training homepage.
The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance’s custom homepage.
Amy Kong | Credit: LinkedIn
“Realogy’s commitment to Fair Housing spans from sponsorship to education to incredible tools like this Fair Housing Course,” AREAA National President Amy Kong said in a press release. “In their thoughtful and intentional efforts, they are fully supporting the mission of AREAA — to promote sustainable homeownership for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
“This pledge is so common-sense, it feels only natural that the Alliance and Realogy have their names on it as pillars of support,” LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance CEO Ryan A. H. Weyandt added. “I challenge all of our members, and Realtors around the country, to dive in and take this fair housing pledge and truly ‘walk the walk’ in fair and equal housing for all.”
In an emailed statement to Inman, Reu-Navarez said the process of developing the course and the customized look for each organization was a “true partnership” and consistent with Realogy’s commitment to leadership in fair housing.
“Realogy has always supported the principles of the Fair Housing Act – fair housing for all – which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status and disability,” she said. “Consistent with our vision as a global real estate services leader, we believe everyone should have access to housing without discrimination, and it is important to broaden access to these training topics to ensure more and more broker agents can support and service one of the most diverse housing markets in recent U.S. history.”
“The process of developing the customized course materials was a true partnership with the participating industry organizations, who worked with Realogy’s team to identify ways to collaborate on the design and expand to their own membership bases, which together comprise more than 60,000 members,” she added.
Reu-Navarez said Realogy will look for ways to partner with other minority-focused real estate associations on future iterations of the course.
Tony Thompson | Credit: LinkedIn
“NAMMBA’s partnership with Realogy has helped grow our organization’s awareness around fair housing practices, past wrongs, and what the real estate industry as a whole can do to collaborate in making a better future for everyone,” NAMMBA founder and CEO Tony Thompson said. “This new training is a great way to get everyone on the same page, especially around why diversity and inclusion are more than a feel-good initiative. When we all have a seat at the table, we can do great things together.”
Over the past year, Realogy brands Coldwell Banker and Century 21 have made strides toward improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in their organizations.
Coldwell Banker launched its Inclusive Ownership Program and Century 21 hired its first-ever DEI director to improve the brokerage’s presence in diverse communities. Meanwhile, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate made headlines in 2016 after shifting the ‘I’ in its core values from innovation to inclusion.
