Realogy has announced it is backing H.R. 1447, the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017, which would amend the Fair Housing Act to include LGBT protections. According to a statement:
- Realogy fully supports the expansion of FHA legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity and as a good business practice.
- Although 22 states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit housing discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity, there is currently no federal law that explicitly protects LGBT people from housing discrimination.
- Realogy and its brands—Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA®, Sotheby’s International Realty®, Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, Corcoran®, Citi HabitatsSMand ZipRealty®—already actively promote, and are committed to, creating and fostering an environment of diversity throughout their respective organizations/franchise systems, and view diversity as a critical component to the ongoing success of their business operations.
- Realogy began a journey more than 10 years ago to focus on external diversity marketplace efforts by forming partnerships with professional real estate associations whose ongoing missions are to improve the homeownership rates of various diverse groups including the LGBT community.
- Realogy and its brands are partners of the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP), which advocates fair housing for the LGBT+ community.
The company affirmed its support at the NAGLREP 2018 National Conference, held this week.
“Realogy strives to be a leader in all aspects of the real estate industry through active engagement and advocacy, and we strongly support the expansion of protections to the LGBT community through H.R. 1447,” said John Peyton, CEO/president of Realogy Franchise Group, who discussed “Looking Forward: Change, Diversity and the Housing Market in 2019 and Beyond,” at the event. “Consistent with our vision as a global real estate and relocation services leader, Realogy believes all prospective homeowners should have access to housing without discrimination.”
The event also featured others from within Realogy, including:
- Kevin Thompson, CMO, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates
- Jennifer Marchetti, CMO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
- Craig Hogan, Vice President, Global Luxury, Coldwell Banker
- Lauren Muehlethaler, Director, Luxury Marketing, Coldwell Banker
- Jade Mills, NRT Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Beverly Hills, Calif.
- Lucio Bernal, NRT Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Palm Springs, Calif.
- Patrick Martin, NRT Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc., West Hollywood, Calif.
- Herman Chan, Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, Berkeley, Calif.
- Steve Abrams, CENTURY 21 S.G.R., Chicago, Ill.
Additionally, Tanya Reu-Narvaez, senior vice president of Human Resources at Realogy, was awarded at the event, honored with NAGLREP’s Pinnacle Award. The Pinnacle Award is NAGLREP’s highest honor, presented annually to those who are devoted to the success of NAGLREP and supportive of the LGBT community. Reu-Narvaez, a longtime proponent of diversity within the real estate industry, was instrumental in helping NAGLREP launch its first national conference five years ago, and continues that strong support today.
“Tanya was a driving force in the growth and success of NAGLREP, including helping us launch our first national conference,” says Jeff Berger, CEO, founder and president of NAGLREP. “She is one of the real estate industry’s top proponents of diversity initiatives, and she played a major role in giving LGBT within the Realogy family a voice with the launch of its REAL Pride employee resource group.”
“I am honored to receive this prestigious award from NAGLREP, and extremely proud to see the great strides made by NAGLREP in representing the LGBT community since its inception,” says Reu-Narvaez. “Realogy understands the importance of inclusion and is a strong advocate for the LGBT community, whether they be employees, agents and brokers or homebuyers and sellers.”
For more information, please visit www.realogy.com.
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