I don't see anything wrong with advertising as a gay-friendly or gay-owned real estate agency. It would not be any different if you were to advertise your services to Spanish-speaking client's by saying "Se habla espanol". You are simply creating differentiation from your competitors by providing a "better fit" for your clients.
There is one agency I know of www.yourseattlegayrealtor.com. This company niche is providing a service to gay families. Often, gay parents prefer to look at homes separately from their partner in order to protect their children from unwanted remarks from intolerable people. This company seeks to normalize the process by providing gay or gay-friendly agents so that gay families can worry less about awkward experiences.
I guess in the end you should market your services to any demographic that you feel you could best serve honestly and with their best interest in mind. Money should never be the driving factor because in the end your ingenuous ways will shine. After all, most of our business comes from referrals so it is best to serve any customer group with their best intentions in mind.
Unfortunately, I do not believe all Realtors are as open minded as those posting to this topic. And just because you are a "Gay Friendly" agents does not me you are saying that you are gay. If I were a gay buyer or seller, it would instill comfort and confidence for me to contact the agent if I knew they were gay friendly upfront. Although it is illegal, I am sure there are agents out there that would not be so helpful or friendly and as a gay buyer or seller, I would be worried about that so know upfront would be helpful. I agree that everyone needs to check with their own state laws for protected classes in fair housing so that you do not violate any of the rules. In all industries I've been in, I've worked with many many gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people. I actually saw demographics showing that they have a higher disposable income than is typical in heterosexual buyers/sellers. And gay couples would qualify as DINKS (Double Income No Kids).
I do not know what this is or why I received it or if it is legitimate or worthwhile, but I received this piece of spam solicitation.
Market to the Gay Friendly Real Estate Community-One of the fastest growing market today.
www.gayrealestatedirectory.com <http://www.gayrealestatedirectory.com/>
It was a fairly lengthy email. Here is a portion.
"We are also on the first page of Yahoo for Gay Real Estate Listings as well.
http://search.yahoo.com/search gay real estate listings <http://search.yahoo.com/search%20gay%20real%20estate%20listings1> As you can see, we work very hard to provide the Gay Community with a unique gateway access to some of the Top Real Estate Professionals and Brokers in the country."
Maybe there is something in this that can help or advise.
Richard
Anytime you advertise to groups instead of services I think you are going to run into trouble, If you want to say you are gay, or Christian, or whatever it is different than saying you are looking for certain clients. Saying se habla espanol means you speak spanish, again it's about you. if you said we want to help spanish people you may have a problem. I also think it's rediculous to have sexual orientation as a protected class. disabled yes, race, yes, but I don't care how you like to have sex and don't think it should be a legitimate protected class. but that is my opinion. Focus your advertitising on your services not who should use them.
I do a lot of business with gays and lesbians. Most of my clients come from referrals. I don't go out specifically searching for a gay and lesbian client. It is great when ANY client, of any colour, race, sexual orientation, refers you to their friends and family. All I have ever done was provide the best service possible, to ALL my clients. When you do a great job, and you put their interests ahead of your own, the referrals will come. I also provide service in different languages, but I also don't advertise that. Again, people will know it and will refer you, if they trust you to do a good job for their family and friends.
It is also no longer true that gays and lesbians are dinks (double income no kids). A lot of my clients have children.
I believe all ANYONE wants is an honest, trustworthy, real estate agent, who will look after their best interests, and if this is how you carry on business, they will find you.
I am a straight, white female, just in case anyone is wondering, and after asking my gay and lesbian clients how they would feel about the question asked here, they tell me they would not necessarily think it's a good thing to advertise as 'gay friendly'. That implies you're not friendly with everyone (or it's the initial reaction to the wording).
Whatever you choose to do, may it bring you new business and new friends. :)
I live and sell in West Hollywood, California.
Fortunately I don't need to say anything more ..... :)
Aloha JJ Canull,
Essentially, marketing is the process of creating or directing an organization to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy. Therefore good marketing must be able to create a "proposition" or set of benefits for the end customer that delivers value through products or services. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing) My question is: What is the set of benefits that delivers value thru your services? I can see you might be able to deliver some cultural and personal sensitivity to gay clients. However, gay clients are a cross section of society. And as such have just their thier sexual identity in common. I see no problems with professionals targeting market segments and providing superior goods and or services. It just needs to be done in a non biased and nondiscriminatory manner. JJ market too tightly to any one group and you may risk loosing great clients out side of your target area because these potential clients may feel that you can not relate to them or may not want their business. Thank you for a thought provoking post.
In an ideal society a client's sexuality should not matter. But it can matter to many people.
John Petrella, REALTOR®
ABR®, GRI, Principal Broker
Direct: 808.640.3953
Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com
Local Hawaii Real Estate
Honesty • Integrity • Commitment
159 Keawe St., Suite 1
Hilo, HI 96720
REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Advertising "gay freindly" in my opinion is like insinuating that other realtors are "not gay friendly"
What would you say if somebody advertised "friendly with boneheads"? or friendly with divorcee's, or friendly with the not-so friendly. What kind of impression would that give you.
I've seen this kind of advertising and the impression it gives is very subjective.
Now if you were targeting gay's that think non-gay's do not want to do business with them... that would be a different story.
Some good posts mentioned that if you want to target the gay community, advertise in their media. That puts you in front.
i don't think its wrong at all to advertise as a "gay friendly agent". in most states, its not a protected class, however, some individual counties have their own restrictions regarding sexual orientation. i am a gay agent and use several sites to advertise. i have actually received a couple very good leads from the sites. one is usgayrelocation.com and its free to list here.
as a gay guy, i feel that most other gay people feel more comfortable going into the transaction knowing that the person they are working with will not discriminate. unless you've ever experienced such, you wouldn't understand.
I think that your intentions are certainly the best and you are trying to let the gay and lesbian community know that you accept their choices and do not discriminate.
However, perhaps instead of the term "Gay Friendly' you could simply advertise yourself in magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. that are circulated in the local gay and lesbian community.
I am glad that the issue has come up. The fact people are talking about it is important. Good Job.
Here is your answer. If you would like to advertise to the gay community, perhaps you could look into advertising in the Blade, or the Advocate magazines. You could also leave your business card at gay clubs, gay-friendly coffee shops, and join the gay chamber of commerce. You could also join the HRC "Human Rights Campaign". If you are looking to attract a certain type of buyer, advertise in the areas that buyer would most likely gravitate.
Maybe it is just being from Texas and Fort Worth for me. I have found that working with "Gay" couples has been exhausting. I would love to handle more "gay" transactions but I would like to work with "level headed" couples that respect that do in fact know my business.
I have found most gay couples that I have worked with to be "Know it Alls", as if they are the ones holding the Real Estate License, taking the continuing education and working for the best interest of their clients, regardless of their sexual orientation.
As a gay man with a partner of fourteen years I have a lot to offer but have little time for game playing.
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