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First American to Host Multicultural Marketing Conference
By James Comtois
First American Title Insurance Company will host a conference in Santa Clara, Calif. to educate real estate industry professionals on how to better serve the growing homeownership needs of San Francisco Bay Area African American, Asian American and Latino communities. The conference, entitled "The Changing Face of Homeownership: A Real Estate Multicultural Marketing Conference," will take place on Thursday, June 1, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway.
The conference, which plans on expanding upon the 2005 Bay Area Latino Marketing Conference, will focus on servicing multiple, ethnically diverse markets and communities by providing educational tools, demographic insights and networking opportunities for real estate professionals.
Among the scheduled speakers are Leon Panetta, founder of The Panetta Institute for Public Policy and a former White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration, as keynote speaker. His topic will be "Cultural Diversity and the American Dream." Also speaking is Jeffrey Davi, California Real Estate commissioner.
"This conference will promote understanding of the issues facing minority homebuyers in the region and position real estate professionals to more effectively meet market demand stemming from the largest potential growth sector for new homeownership," said Maria Valentin, regional diversity marketing director for First American Title.
U.S. minority buying power stands in excess of $1.9 trillion, and it's projected that 60% of all first-time homebuyers will come from these communities during the next decade. "These under-served communities represent the greatest go-forward opportunities for real estate professionals, as their homeownership rates still trail those of white Americans by roughly 25%," Ms. Valentin added. "Creating new homeowners within these segments has a tremendous, positive impact on how we embrace diversity in our local communities, as well as significant bottom line results for progressive real estate practitioners."
With speakers from the public and private sector, the conference is expected to double the number of attendees at First American's 2005 Latino Marketing Conference to more than 600. In addition to demographic and economic trends, scheduled sessions will cover topics such as recruiting and retaining diverse agents, providing prime rate loans for buyers with nontraditional credit, negotiating with multicultural buyers and the negative impact and prevention of predatory lending practices.
Key supporting organizations include the Asian Real Estate Association of America, the Chinese American Real Estate Association, the California Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Council of Indian American REALTORS, the Chinese Real Estate Association of America, the Filipino American Real Estate Professional Association, the Hispanic Association of Realtors and Affiliates, the Korean Association of Realtors and Lenders National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers and the Vietnamese American Real Estate Professional Association
"Owning a home is a cornerstone of the American Dream," said Jim Park, CEO of the Asian Real Estate Association of America and expected attendee of the conference, adding, "For many Asian Americans and newly arrived immigrants, it is a positive step towards long-term financial health and the building of deep roots in this country. By creating this educational forum for real estate professionals, First American is building the base of real estate and mortgage practitioners needed to extend this American Dream to traditionally under-served communities."
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