Una buena idea
Attracting and working with Hispanic clients.

Read about the Spanish-language marketing resources offered by the Texas Association of REALTORS^®.

by Scott Williams  Few real estate professionals today can afford to ignore the Hispanic market, and that will become increasingly true as time goes on. Gary Maler, associate director of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, says that in the next six to seven years, whites will no longer be the majority race in Texas. And by 2035, Hispanics are expected to become the majority ethnic group in the state. But you don’t have six or seven years to prepare before approaching this market. Hispanics already represent
a major factor in the homebuying market, and a recent survey by the Real Estate Center, Home Buying Among Ethnic Groups, shows the size of their impact.

The study examined buyers’ attitudes and expectations through telephone surveys of 1,870 Hispanics, 880 whites, 772 blacks, and 481 Asians. Among those Hispanics interviewed, 48% who do not own a home said they are likely to purchase a home within three years.

Since the Hispanic market is so large and continues to grow, how do you attract and keep Hispanic customers?

The answer to that question isn’t as simple as learning a few real estate terms in Spanish. The Hispanic market is much more diverse than many realize and ranges from
third-generation U.S. citizens who don’t speak a word of Spanish to newly arrived immigrants from Central and South America who speak little or no English.

It might be worthwhile for your business to add Spanish ads, Web pages, and other marketing devices. But if you decide to pursue Spanish-speaking Hispanics, make a sincere investment in the language and culture or be prepared for your efforts to backfire.

Understanding the language isn’t the only barrier you face with the Hispanic market. Cultural attitudes and consumer behaviors often differ from those of other consumers—and can differ widely among various Hispanic cultures.

Not all Hispanics speak Spanish
Laura Sonderup, director of Heinrich Hispanidad, a division of Heinrich Marketing Inc. in Denver, says U.S. Hispanics hail from the Caribbean, Spain, and 20 countries in Central and South America, although the majority (63%) are of Mexican heritage.

“The culture, beliefs, opinions, and consumer behavior patterns of U.S. Hispanics are not identical,” says Sonderup, who also serves as a director for a Hispanic community outreach agency. “As with other groups, you don’t market to everyone in that group with exactly the same message.”

According to Sonderup, many people believe that Hispanic marketing need only consist of Spanish-language marketing, despite the fact that many Hispanics don’t speak Spanish or are more fluent in English.

“If you’re making assumptions about language preferences, you’re in a position to perhaps anger
or irritate people,” she says, “which is not something you want to do if you’re trying to build your book
of business.”

You should first research the Hispanic market and select which segment you want to pursue. Sonderup recommends focusing on what you do best and determining how to translate your strength to the Hispanic market. Then decide if it makes sense for you to invest significant marketing dollars targeting Spanish-speaking Hispanics.

Don’t fake it
If you commit to Spanish marketing, put away your elementary Spanish phrase book.

“If you really want to work with individuals who prefer to communicate in Spanish, that agent has to be bilingual,” Sonderup says. “It’s not enough to have an assistant who speaks Spanish.”

The Real Estate Center report found that Hispanics prefer or need to work with an agent who speaks Spanish when involved in real estate dealings. More than any other ethnic group, Hispanics say they feel uncomfortable handling business transactions in English. Imagine how frightening it is to review and sign the legal documents associated with buying property in a foreign language.

The survey also found that many Hispanics of all income ranges prefer an agent who can relate to them—meaning the agent speaks their language and has the same ethnic background. Add to that the relative lack of homebuying experience that many Hispanics bring to the table and you’ll understand how intimidating the experience can be and how important it is for them to be comfortable with their agent.
Among the four ethnic groups surveyed, Hispanics had the least experience with a real estate agent and homeownership—they are the most likely to have never used an agent to buy or sell a home.

Find a buddy
One way for you to benefit from the Hispanic market without taking a crash course in Spanish is to partner with a Hispanic agent who speaks the language. That way both parties benefit from attracting clients from at least two cultures, while dealing with clients who feel most comfortable with them.

Roman Alfaro Jr. and Randy Watson of the R&R Realty Associates team with Cowboy, REALTORS®, in San Antonio are an example of such a partnership. Watson understands and speaks some Spanish, and Alfaro is fluent in both English and Spanish; they market their services in both languages.

“We’re definitely at an advantage over offices that only speak English or agents that only speak English,” Watson says.

The company advertises its business in a bilingual newspaper, has a Spanish page on its Web site, and markets itself on Spanish Internet search engines. “So if you’re looking for real estate agents in San Antonio and you happen to be on a search engine,” Watson says, “you can type San Antonio real estate, and we’ll pop up somewhere in the search.”

They’re careful when writing ads in Spanish. Watson first writes the ad in English, Alfaro translates it into Spanish, and other Spanish speakers edit it to make sure it’s understandable to people from Mexico as well as those from Central and South America. Watson equates the ad-writing process to making sure an ad is understandable to speakers of American English, British English, and Australian English.

“It might be close, we might kind of understand, but at times there are things in English we miss on, and it’s kind of the same in Spanish,” he says. Other than that, Watson says that they keep their marketing message as simple as possible. “We just try to make it as broad a scope as possible and appeal to as many people as possible.”

According to Alfaro, one advantage to working with immigrants compared to working with U.S.-born clients, whether white or Hispanic, is that immigrants generally know what they want and will buy it as soon as they see it. U.S.-born clients tend to want more choices and might look at 20 more properties before they commit to buy.

Despite Hispanic clients’ tendency to know what they want, Alfaro warns that, generally speaking, it’s important not to rush into discussing business when you first meet them. “I can assure you right now if you start talking business first, you’re going to lose them,” he cautions. Establish a friendship first, then move on to business dealings. Alfaro says, “If they feel they can trust you as a friend, then they can trust you with everything else they have.”

Sonderup says that friendship may be too strong a word, but she agrees that it is important to first establish a rapport with Hispanic customers. Two of the best ways to do that are understanding cultural nuances and opening up to share about yourself and your family.

Embrace the differences
Mary Mancera, communications director for the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), advises taking extra time to explain everything carefully and to resist becoming irritated by cultural differences.

One difference that throws some agents for a loop, she says, is the insistence by many Hispanic buyers to include their spouses, children, and extended family in the homebuying process. Dealing with such a large group can lead to some serious scheduling problems, especially when some family members work more than one job.

The survey found that all respondents, no matter what ethnicity, want the agent to manage the closing process from start to finish. They said they consider it important that the agent explain the process and the contracts, set the right asking price, and negotiate on their behalf.

Banking on new arrivals
A significant part of managing the transaction for Hispanic immigrants includes counseling them about the financial part of the purchasing process. They are probably not familiar or comfortable with banks, lenders, mortgages, credit history—things that most buyers in the United States have at least a basic understanding about.

Many Hispanic immigrants have different attitudes toward banking, which result from other countries’ banking systems being less secure than the system in the U.S. Another problem that many immigrants have is a lack of credit history.

More than half of all Hispanics who participated in the Real Estate Center survey said they believe it is difficult to qualify for a mortgage. Hispanics are also less likely than other groups to consider the homebuying process easy, and although they tend to be willing to buy a home with a low downpayment, they are less likely than other ethnic groups to extend themselves financially.

“That becomes a factor in the homebuying process because the agent is going to be involved in helping choose a lender to work with—and maybe even handle that part of the transaction himself—and it’s going to require special consideration,” Mancera says.

Mancera advises that, when working with Hispanics who have recently immigrated to the U.S., it’s important to find a lender who has experience working with immigrant homebuyers. That lender can help the buyer establish a financial trail needed to buy a home and, if necessary, can offer the type of loan products that work outside the traditional financing process.

Networking is one way to find such lenders. Mancera also suggests that agents search for their nearest NAHREP chapter, which usually includes members representing lenders, title companies, insurance agencies, and real estate agencies.

Patience is a virtue
The smallest details can become much more complicated when dealing with Hispanic homebuyers, says Mancera, because of the need to explain things. But it will pay off in the long run through word-of-mouth referrals that can be much more effective than any advertising you might do.

One way to attract Hispanic clients is to host homebuying seminars that deliver information in Spanish in a format that does not come across as a sales pitch. She says that it’s important to give buyers a complete picture of the process in a way that is educational, familiar, and not intimidating.

“You really have to over-explain that kind of information, and that is going to win some influence with them if you take that kind of time,” Mancera says.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals is relaunching educational curriculum this fall designed to help agents and brokers attract and keep Hispanic clients. The curriculum covers the cultural distinctions between Latin countries and offers strategies for attracting and working with Hispanics. For more information, visit NAHREP’s Web site at NAHREP.org and contact your local chapter.

Networking for life
Maler says that Hispanics regard family as a primary source of information and advice and will turn to a parent before they turn to an agent or broker. Agents should think in terms of family, friends, and relationships when working with Hispanics and should establish relationships with other Hispanics with whom the clients do business. Those people, in turn, will refer friends and acquaintances to the agent based only on the fact that they’re a customer with whom they’re on friendly terms.

“You need to do right by them and they will, in turn, do that marketing for you,” Mancera says. “What happens when they have a positive experience is they will send you business forever.”

Scott Williams is a freelance writer based in Corpus Christi and also serves as a contributing editor for Hispanic Business magazine.

Photo © Digital Vision.

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