April 2021 ELEVATE Magazine - Fair Housing For All

Fair Housing for All

April is National Fair Housing Month. It is a time for us to observe the anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 with events and opportunities designed to educate about housing discrimination and segregation, and to renew our commitment to expanding equal access to housing. Realtors® are charged with upholding fair housing laws as well as offering professional service to all in their search for real estate.

Fair housing is more than a list of dos and don’ts, rights and penalties, and mandatory continuing education. As stewards of the right to own, use and transfer private property, fair housing protects our livelihood and business as Realtors® and depends on a free, open market that embraces equal opportunity. 1

RASM’S COMMITMENT

Commitment to community is at the core of the Realtor® proposition. Diversity inspires us to challenge our assumptions; our different backgrounds and our points of view make us stronger when we consider them together. We mightily enforce that commitment through our Code of Ethics, which commands mutual respect regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, national origin, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, or any other qualities by which we may define ourselves.

“We’re proud to celebrate Fair Housing Month because we believe in the dream of homeownership for all people,” said Alex Krumm, Broker Owner of NextHome Excellence and 2021 RASM President. “We’ve pushed hard for years to make inclusion and equality a focus in both the national and our local conversations. Realtors® are citizens of our communities, advocates for all people, and dedicated to the principles of inclusivity and fairness.”

STAND UP TO THE CHALLENGE!

RASM stands with NAR as they continue to strengthen their commitment to fair housing in the real estate industry.

NAR’s Fair Housing Action Plan, abbreviated ‘ACT,’ emphasizes (A)ccountability, (C)ulture Change, and (T)raining in order to ensure America’s 1.4 million Realtors® are doing everything possible to protect housing rights in America. NAR 2021 President Charlie Oppler is asking that our Association leaders join the challenge, and in turn challenge their membership, by completing the Fairhaven Fair Housing Simulation, Implicit Bias Training, and to earn your At Home With Diversity® certification. Realtors® who complete these three programs will be empowered to confront and check their own biases; honor the Fair Housing Act, and work to end discrimination in housing. 2 nar.realtor/fair-housing.

FAIRHAVEN

Fairhaven is a new, online, immersive simulation that uses the power of storytelling to make learners confront fair housing discrimination in scenarios that we hope feel real. Participants in the fictional town of Fairhaven play the role of an agent. In the simulation, they work against the clock to close four deals. As learners interact with clients and colleagues in each scenario, they will confront some form of discrimination—based on race, national origin, disability, familial status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The scenarios in Fairhaven are inspired by real fair housing cases, and by conversations held with NAR members. The training provides customized feedback that Realtors® can apply to daily business interactions. 3 Fairhaven.realtor.

IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING VIDEO

The new NAR online workshop helps Realtors® understand how our unconscious brains categorize information and stereotypes and offers practical tools to override hidden biases. Part of this training includes a new 50-minute implicit bias training video. Partnering with the New York-based Perception Institute, NAR’s online video draws upon recent research to illustrate how the human brain’s automatic, instant association of stereotypes with particular groups can cause people to treat those who are different from them unfairly. The video also offers strategies to override bias in order to convey respect, ensure fairness and improve business relationships. Scientific evidence also suggests these biases persist despite people’s best intentions and often without conscious awareness.

The workshop offers many “de-biasing” practices that not only help to reduce bias, but also improve our relationships with all the people we encounter— being more responsive, growing our networks, and generating more business. 4

AT HOME WITH DIVERSITY® CERTIFICATION

Another great educational opportunity for Realtors® is the At Home With Diversity® (AHWD) certification course. This course teaches Realtors® how to work effectively with diverse populations so they can build business success in today’s multicultural real estate market. The AHWD certification will also help Realtors® to:

• Understand attributes of diversity in local markets and their impact on the real estate industry.

• Understand basic competencies to earn the confidence of potential buyers and sellers, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, handicaps, familial status, or national origin.

• Build a business plan that minimizes risk and successfully services all types of clients.

“The importance of completing the At Home With Diversity certification had been on my mind for some time simply because of significant recent events,” said Joyce Steward, Real Estate Broker, and recent AHWD graduate. “The course changed the way I begin my conversations with potential buyers in that I delve more into what they say they are looking for, what they vision their lifestyle to be, and a location that is a priority for them. With the availability of information now open to everyone on the internet, the public knows those answers. I need to ‘hear’ them.”

“I was one that never felt that I was a non-inclusive person, but it didn’t take long into the class that I realized I was not listening to what many people in our country were feeling and experiencing. I was introduced to the term ‘implicit bias’ early in the teaching. I had heard the term before, but I wasn’t really ‘hearing’ the term. As a Realtor®, I learned to treat every customer, fellow agent, and seller or buyer exactly the same from the beginning. To be able to do that, I must stop and listen AND absorb what is being said. Understanding one’s situation is key to inclusivity in all phases of the real estate business. It is my belief that each licensed real estate agent/broker should take the course At Home With Diversity to be a more sensitive and inclusive member of the real estate business and to be prepared to call attention to something that just doesn’t sound right,” added Steward.

As a bonus, the AHWD Certification counts as the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) Designation elective, a task required in the C2EX Program, and one elective course towards the CIPS Designation. 5

NAR 2021 SNAPSHOT OF RACE AND HOME BUYING IN AMERICA

In February 2021, NAR released the report A Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America. This report looks into the characteristics of who purchases homes, why they purchase, what they purchase, and the financial background for buyers based on race. This report examines these homeownership trends among each racial group during the last 10 years. Since real estate activity is local, homeownership opportunities vary by area. So, the report also examines where most of minority homeowners are located and which areas are more affordable for these households. 6

AFFORDABILITY BY RACE

Especially during the pandemic, demand has surpassed supply across the nation and home prices continue to increase, causing increased affordability concerns. In fact, the supply of homes has been under produced for the past decade. The NAR report states that home prices have continuously risen for the last nine years, since February 2012. The median existinghome price rose to nearly $309,800 in December 2020; 13% more than a year earlier; 40% more than five years earlier. Nationwide, 43% of black Americans can afford to buy the typical home compared to 63% of white Americans. Respectively, 71% of Asian Americans and 54% of Hispanic Americans can afford to buy the typical home. 7

Of course, affordability conditions vary by area. Fast-rising home prices seem to be eroding the benefits of the current low rates in some areas, making it more difficult for every American to accomplish their home buying dream. The NAR report delves into many important issues that cannot be solved overnight, but nevertheless; they deserve our full attention. To read the full report, visit www.nar.realtor/research-andstatistics/research-reports/a-snapshot-of-race-andhome-buying-in-america.

HATE SPEECH

Late last year, the NAR Board of Directors passed a motion making it a violation for Realtors® to use harassing or hate speech toward any of the protected classes under Article 10 of NAR’s Code of Ethics. Those include race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Professional Standards Committee recommendations come as NAR works to reaffirm its commitment to fair housing and position its members to lead America’s real estate industry in the fight against discrimination and inequality. 8

INEQUALITIES IN HOME OWNERSHIP

Homeownership is the largest single contributor to intergenerational wealth for American families. But it has not been accessible to all Americans on equal terms. More than 50 years after passage of the federal Fair Housing Act, there remains a 30-percentagepoint homeownership gap between white and black Americans - the same as in 1968, the year the act was

adopted. Black Americans own one-tenth the wealth of white Americans, despite earning, on average, about 60% of white Americans’ income. With awareness of this history, cities and states are exploring ways to repair past harm and protect against future loss. As community leaders, advocates for homeownership, and protectors of property rights, Realtors® are engaged in efforts to build a more equitable future. 10

PRESIDENT BIDEN’S FAIR HOUSING LEGISLATION

The issue of Fair Housing and discrimination is so vital to our overall wellbeing, that President Biden recently issued several actions related to ending discrimination and promoting fair housing and equal opportunity for all Americans. Included in these was the January 20, 2021, Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation and the January 26, 2021, Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation’s and the Federal Government’s History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies.

EXECUTIVE ORDER & MEMORANDUM

The executive order on preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation directs heads of federal agencies to examine previous agency actions. The order directs federal agencies to interpret all civil rights laws, including the Fair Housing Act, that include a prohibition on discrimination “because of sex” to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation’s and the Federal Government’s History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies directs the federal government to redress its history of discriminatory housing and lending practices. Polices are in place to actively combat racial bias in rental and home-purchase transactions and to eliminate barriers to housing choice.

In addition, HUD is directed to ensure its programs and procedures are affirmatively furthering fair housing and fully enforcing the Fair Housing Act, including the prevention of practices with an unjustified discriminatory effect.