Inman

Asian-American real estate study

The Asian Real Estate Association of America, a national trade association for real estate professionals serving the Asian-American community, has launched a new Web site for its members. The site includes information about the group’s events, initiatives, membership, board of directors, and history. Formed in 2001, the group promotes home ownership opportunities for Asian-Americans across the country. The group also announced today that it is waiving membership dues this year.

Among the group’s current initiatives is an Asian Homeownership Study that will include an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data and a survey of real estate professionals who serve Asian-American clients.  The Census analysis will include a study of home ownership rates, mortgage size, household size, immigration status, language spoken, income, educational attainment, employment and transportation.

The survey will be modeled after a similar survey that was conducted by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals in 2000, which included a series of questions relating to barriers to home ownership. Interviews will be conducted with Asian-American home buyers and would-be home buyers exploring their experiences within the housing market. Ethnicity, age, immigration status, family type, cultural values and priorities, income, educational attainment, language capability, geographic location, and numerous other factors will be considered to ensure a diverse range of experiences as they relate to the purchase of a home, the group reported. These testimonials are intended to generate detailed information on the challenges Asian-Americans face with financial eligibility, income sources and creditworthiness.

The AREAA Homeownership Study will culminate in a comprehensive report that is real estate industry focused and, inclusive of all charts, graphs, maps and other graphic data.

Members of AREAA’s board of directors include Realtors and employees of bank, title and home-building companies.

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