Recruit to Mirror the Market

Yesterday’s home buying and selling households might have come right out of the TV series, Father Knows Best. You remember them -- dad, a stay-at-home mom, 3.0 kids and the family dog. Things have changed.

Today there are more minority and foreign-born households. In addition to this racial and ethnic shift, the mix of household types is changing as well. There are more single female households, more unmarried couples, more childless households, and more households with disabled individuals. The market is changing, but are we responding effectively to the new face of demand?

A recent article in NAR’s REALTOR magazine, predicted that by the year 2010, 80 percent of first time homebuyers will be immigrant households. Others are predicting that by that same year, 30 percent of all buyers will be minorities.

New segments = New needs

Brokerage companies are beginning to recognize the unique needs of these increasingly important market segments. For instance, The Prudential Florida, has identified their agents who speak foreign languages and published a directory of bi-lingual associates.

Douglas Elliman, a Manhattan-based brokerage firm, is offering its relocation guide to New York City in more than six languages and has identified 25 languages spoken by its associates. This focus on diversity reflects the fact that national growth of the native-born white population is almost stagnant while Asian Americans boast a 5.2 percent growth rate, Hispanics are growing at 3 percent, and African Americans are increasing at 1.6 percent.

Immigration fueling market

Immigration is a major factor in much of this growth and will continue to be. This diversification of America is occurring in major markets and in small ones, in the middle of the country and on the coasts. While Asian populations are growing in Lincoln (NE), immigrants from the former Soviet Union flow into Dallas, Mexicans move into San Diego and Latin Americans fuel Miami’s growth. The face of the market is changing as a million new households flow into the U.S. each year from abroad.

Recruit agents from targeted segments

Brokers and agents are beginning to respond to this diverse market by targeting advertising to specific market segments. Century 21’s efforts to penetrate the Hispanic market and The National Association of Realtors’ use of institutional advertising in Spanish are just two examples of this; however, most brokerage firms don’t appear to be targeting recruiting efforts at these market segments. Targeted recruiting may be the best way to serve and penetrate these important market niches.

For many minority group members, the cost of housing is not the primary deterrent to purchasing. Instead, it is discomfort with the process. If you don’t understand what’s involved, or if you face a language barrier, you may be reluctant to even start the real estate process. This doesn’t mean that agents can only work effectively with those who match them demographically, it simply recognizes the hesitancy that keeps some prospects out of the market because they are "different" from the agents they encounter.

Our country is changing, yet as I look at real estate groups across the country, I don’t see the same diversity. Perhaps one secret to meeting the needs of the emerging market segments is to better reflect the variety of the market in our own offices. It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing what we’ve always done, such as focusing our new agent recruiting on teachers and nurses despite the fact that research tells us that the highest percentage of top agents come from management/administrative or sales and marketing careers. We also tend to recruit people who look and sound like us.

Today, Ozzie may be Mr. Gonzales and Harriet may be Ms. Nguyen. The names and demographics may be different, but our goal is to create organizations who continue to meet shifting consumer needs. New resources will yield new energy and talent. Recruiting agents who mirror the very market segments we wish to target can be an effective strategy for ensuring tomorrow’s success.


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Copyright© 2002, Laurie Moore-Moore. All right reserved. For information contact Frog Pond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@frogpond.com.