The State of Diversity Today: Take a look around many real estate offices or industry events, and you might notice a pattern – the industry has historically been dominated by a fairly homogeneous group. In fact, as of 2023 about 79% of REALTORS® were White alta.org. Black/African American agents make up only ~6%, with Hispanic/Latino agents around 10% and Asian/Pacific Islander about 4% alta.org. The typical real estate agent is a 55-year-old white female, according to NAR’s member profile data alta.org. While there’s been some improvement (those percentages of minority agents are slowly rising, and new entrants to the field are more diverse – about 40% of new agents have a non-White background alta.org), the workforce still doesn’t fully reflect the diverse communities we serve. The gap is even more pronounced in commercial real estate and leadership positions. One recent analysis found that people of color hold only 12.8% of C-suite executive roles at top commercial real estate firms cresa.com – meaning the decision-makers at major brokerages, REITs, and developers are nearly 87% white.
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Why DEI Matters – Business Case
Beyond being the right thing to do, embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is smart business. The U.S. population is increasingly diverse – more than 40% of Americans now identify as people of color brookings.edu, and younger generations are even more mixed. That means your client base is diversifying. Brokers and agents who can connect with people from different backgrounds will naturally tap into larger markets. For example, having agents who speak multiple languages or understand various cultural customs can attract clientele that others miss. Moreover, diverse teams tend to be more creative and better at problem-solving, because they bring multiple perspectives. There’s evidence across industries that companies with diverse leadership and inclusive cultures financially outperform those without – a message many real estate firms have taken to heart magazine.foster.uw.edumagazine.foster.uw.edu. In real estate specifically, a University of Washington study found that agents who were motivated to learn about other cultures closed more deals with clients of different backgrounds than those who didn’t make that effort magazine.foster.uw.edu. This effect was amplified in brokerages that actively supported diversity and inclusion magazine.foster.uw.edu. In short, open minds boost bottom lines: being culturally intelligent and welcoming isn’t just “nice,” it can directly increase your sales magazine.foster.uw.edumagazine.foster.uw.edu.
Why DEI Matters – Industry Fairness
There’s also a crucial fairness and systemic bias angle. Real estate has a painful legacy of exclusion – from redlining and racially restrictive covenants in the early 20th century to less obvious biases that linger today. To appreciate the importance of DEI, consider the historical context: U.S. housing policy systematically excluded people of color for decades. For instance, only 2% of government-backed home loans between 1934 and 1962 went to nonwhite borrowers empirelearning.com due to FHA redlining maps and discriminatory GI Bill implementation. These practices created huge gaps in homeownership and wealth that persist. By the time the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 to outlaw explicit housing discrimination, minority communities had largely been locked out of the post-WWII housing boom empirelearning.comempirelearning.com. This legacy of systemic bias is one reason minority homeownership rates remain lower and why trust in the real estate system can be fragile. When we talk about diversity and inclusion now, it’s partly about repairing that trust. Having more diverse agents and promoting inclusive practices helps ensure all clients feel welcome and treated fairly, and it helps the industry shed the remnants of that “old boys’ club” image.
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DEI in Practice
So what does prioritizing DEI look like for an agent or broker? It can take many forms, big and small:
- Hiring and Mentorship: Brokerages are striving to recruit and mentor more agents from underrepresented groups. A broader range of voices in the office leads to better ideas on reaching different communities.
- Inclusive Marketing: Ensuring your advertising and branding speak to a diverse audience. This might mean featuring people of different races, ages, and family types in marketing materials, and being mindful of language (no coded terms that imply a preferred buyer).
- Ongoing Training: Engaging in trainings on bias, cultural competency, and fair housing (many of which are now required by state laws or offered by associations) keeps inclusion top-of-mind. For example, the National Association of REALTORS® has programs like At Home With Diversity and implicit bias video training to help agents expand their skills.
- Community Outreach: Participating in community organizations or events that celebrate diversity. This not only builds goodwill but also helps you genuinely understand the needs of different groups – whether it’s attending a local Hispanic homeownership fair, supporting accessible housing initiatives for people with disabilities, or sponsoring multicultural neighborhood events.
- Leadership and Policy: Pushing for diverse leadership within our industry organizations (local REALTOR® boards, MLS committees, etc.). When leadership includes voices from different backgrounds, policies (like MLS rules or ethics enforcement) tend to be fairer and more attuned to equity concerns.
The Bottom Line
DEI matters because real estate is ultimately about people and their homes. Our clients are as diverse as the world itself, and to serve them well, the industry must reflect and respect that diversity. Embracing DEI leads to better service, a larger client base, and a stronger reputation in your community. It helps prevent costly missteps (like marketing that alienates groups or policies that unintentionally exclude). And at a societal level, it positions us as agents of positive change – professionals who are helping to undo the legacy of housing discrimination one inclusive interaction at a time empirelearning.com. In a competitive marketplace, those who champion diversity and inclusion will not only do good but also do well. DEI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a business imperative and a moral obligation rolled into one.
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