FIDELITY, RE/MAX, AND CHASE NEW MULTICULTURAL PROGRAMS
In March 2007 Fidelity National Financial launched four new websites, one in traditional Chinese, one in Korean, one in Spanish, and one in Vietnamese.  Each site offers accessible information on real estate, escrow, and title insurance to help those who might understand the detailed material in their native language. 

RE/MAX of California and Hawaii have expanded their Hispanic Initiative by further augmenting their program with more tools and informational pamphlets in Spanish as well as recruiting more bilingual associates.

Chase has announced they will sponsor a TV series called "Better Living in USA", which is aimed at entertaining and educating recent Chinese immigrants about homeownership in America.  The program will air in Mandarin and Cantonese dialects on Sky Link TV and will also include Chinese language TV commercials by Chase. 

AREAA AMENDMENT TO FHA REFORM
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) had an amendment attached to H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007.  H.R. 1852, which deals with FHA reform, now includes an amendment which will allow the Secretary of HUD to create a five-year pilot program that will establish an automated process for providing alternative credit rating information for buyers and prospective buyers who have insufficient credit histories for determining their credit worthiness.  Currently the process is done manually and can take an extended time.

Alternative credit rating information may include: rent, utilities, insurance payment histories, and such other information that the Secretary considers appropriate.  

FORECLOSURES MAY HIT LATINOS HARD
Many of those in the Latino community are being hit hard by foreclosures.  Latinos often find themselves in subprime loans, often because they do not have established credit histories.  Additionally, some Latinos find it hard to fully understand the terms of their loans, which are laden with technical and legal terms, when the papers are in their second language, English. 

With many of the subprime loans now resetting to higher rates (after their teaser period expires) advocates and real estate professionals say that minority and immigrant populations are suffering disproportionately.  Nearly half of the Latinos in California who purchased a home in 2005 did so using loans that were meant for consumers with poor or weak credit, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.  The Center also predicts that one in five of those loans will be facing foreclosure. 

While these numbers can be stark, many note that the recent trend in promoting Latino homeownership has opened the doors for many Latinos and minorities who just 10 or 15 years ago would have been immediately rejected.    

LATINOS LESS LIKELY TO BE ONLINE
On March 14, 2007 the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that Latinos are not going online as much asnon-Hispanic whites and blacks, even at younger ages where Internet use is far greater. 

Only 56% of adult Latinos use the Internet, compared to 70% of whites and about 60% of blacks.  The Internet use of U.S. born Latinos was comparable to that of whites, but about two-thirds of adult Latinos in the U.S. were born elsewhere.  The study also found that one in three Spanish dominant Latinos use the Internet and that Latinos online tend to primarily be English speakers or bilingual. 

Additionally, the study found that less than one-third of Latino adults have broadband, more than 50% have a cellphone and send and receive text messages.

Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS^® and the Asian Real Estate Association of America Sign Chapter Agreement
Today, the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS^® (SCCAOR) and the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) announced a partnership to better serve the growing Asian American community in the region and to help each organization's members successfully grow their business.

"Diversity has always been a priority for SCCAOR and we have pioneered many programs that reach out to minority real estate professionals and homebuyers, the latest example being the multilingual WinForms tutorial we developed," SCCAOR President Warren Winsness said. "We believe our partnership with AREAA will give our members more tools to serve Asian American homebuyers."

Allen M. Okamoto, Chairman of AREAA, "AREAA's focus is to provide world-class educational programs for our members anddeliver the important mission of closing the homeownership gap facing the Asian American community.  We are excited to partner with SCCAOR and their members in the South Bay."

The Santa Clara Association of REALTORS^® is an organization of 10,000 members which was established in 1896 and represents members throughout the South Bay.

Founded in 2003, Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) is a national professional trade organization dedicated to closing the homeownership gap facing the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. AREAA accomplishes the mission by advocating on a national level for policy and legislative issues that reduce homeownership barriers facing the APA community and increase business opportunities for mortgage and real estate professionals that serve this growing community.

Recognizing a growing diversity within the Southern Bay Area of California, SCCAOR strives to offer its members programs geared to improve their skills and abilities as REALTORS^® and to serve the public within their communities.  The growing homeownership opportunity for Asian Pacific American's continues at a rapid pace nationally. This provides both a tremendous benefit and challenge for real estate professionals.  Recognizing these issues and addressing them collectively is the goal of the new partnership.

REALTOR^® educational programs and community homeownership initiatives will be offered jointly by AREAA and SCCAOR in hopes of helping Asian Pacific Americans fulfill their dream of homeownership like so many other native and immigrant Americans.  Additionally, the partnership will assist U.S. based real estate professionals understand and flourish in the foreign marketplace.