With a growing number of Hispanic residents and homeowners in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, a national real estate professional association catering to that market is opening a chapter in the city.
The Charlotte chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals will officially launch Wednesday, said Oscar Reto, 46, president of the local chapter. Nationally, the association has about 20,000 members and 48 chapters, including the newly established one in the Queen City.
In 2010, more than 12,000 homes were Hispanic-owned and -occupied in Mecklenburg County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An additional 17,900 homes were rented by Hispanic residents. Ten years earlier, Hispanics had owned and occupied 2,900 homes in Mecklenburg County and rented 8,400 more, data show.
Reto recently moved to PrimeLending, a national mortgage lender. For 10 years, he was a senior mortgage loan officer and a banking center manager for Bank of America.
Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. Why open a chapter in Charlotte?
The growth of the Hispanic community is huge here in Charlotte. People are moving here from New Jersey, New York, Ohio. Some are bilingual, some are not. The move is attracting more people to buy homes. Due to the financial crisis of two or three years ago, it?s very important to have educated clients.
The NAHREP database shows 144 professionals in the greater Charlotte area serve and specifically market to the Hispanic community. They are not only Realtors, but also lenders and builders. Providers don?t have to be Hispanic necessarily, but they have a history of working with lenders and others that serve the Hispanic community.
We hope to attract 60 members locally when we launch on Wednesday.
Q. Why do some real-estate professionals market specifically to Hispanic clients? What are ways in which they reach out to them?
Our clients are more comfortable with someone who speaks the language, and also someone who understands the culture. Just like there are Hispanic newspaper and TV stations, we reach out to them. It?s a segment of the community that we have an affinity with. There are also real estate groups here in Charlotte and nationally that market to the African-American and Asian communities.
The majority of real estate professionals reach out to Hispanic clients by attending churches and advertising in Spanish-speaking radio and newspapers.
First-time homebuyers account for 60?percent of our community, and they?re a young generation ? 26 to 45 years old.
Q. Has there been a demand from area professionals for a local chapter dedicated to real estate professionals serving Hispanics?
There has been a demand and a need. We needed a group to be able to lead in training and education for services provided to the Hispanic community. There have been changes in the real estate arena, and a lot of the professionals needed to be up-to-date and better prepared to help their clients.
The local chapter will give real estate professionals resources.
Q. What has the business climate in general been like for Hispanic-owned businesses in the city?
The climate seems to be improving, and there are signs it?s getting better in the real estate market. We?re seeing multiple offers on properties, which is a good sign.
A house on the market six months ago would not have received as many offers. Nowadays ? especially for residential properties selling for less ? the inventory of homes on the market is getting smaller as more people buy homes.
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