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MORE TO ‘APRIL’ THAN JUST A MONTH

By Jose R. Cordova

Real Estate Broker/Owner with CASA REAL PROPERTY

May 02, 2008 08:27 AM

The month of April is not just "Open House" month at Century21 Casa Real Latino, it is also the month we celebrate Fair Housing.

For the last forty years, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been celebrating April as fair housing month. Fair Housing month was initiated by then-president Lyndon Johnson soon after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 as a tribute to Dr. King's legacy and commitment to civil rights. One of the objectives was to prevent discrimination based on race in the sales or rental of housing. Since then, all races and ethnic backgrounds have been able to pursue the American dream through equal access to housing.

Another significant event was marked in 2002 when President George W. Bush enhanced our nation's commitment to equal housing opportunities for all by designating June as National Homeownership Month, with the goal to increase minority homeownership in America by 5.5 million by the end of the decade.

Realtors, you serve your community best when you work hard to provide fair access to affordable housing and homeownership. Take extra time to focus on education throughout your local association and your offices. We need to educate our buyers in the areas of homeownership, FHA-conforming loan programs, predatory lending, diversity, and housing and smart growth initiatives.

We are now closer than ever to achieving the ultimate goal of equal housing access for all. Let's keep going until we've helped everyone who wants help to cross that finish line.