Building Bridges
Fair housing and inclusive access to housing should be our collective focus 365 days a year, not just during April.
Five years ago, in late March 2020, OneKey MLS, LLC was launched. This was almost at the very same time COVID started running rampant in New York, and the real estate industry was, in essence, shut down. Those were scary times. I live on the Upper East Side in New York, and for weeks, all you would hear was the sound of sirens.
One thing that struck me at the time was the disproportionate impact the pandemic had on those individuals without homes or living in unsafe housing conditions, and often, these individuals were members of minority communities. It truly brought home in a very personal way the importance of access to housing. It truly can become a matter of life or death.
Every April, we celebrate Fair Housing Month, and it can be easy to do the same sound bites and repeat the same talking points. I challenge you to go beyond those talking points. Find out how you can make a difference in the communities you serve. There are volunteer opportunities and advocacy efforts in every geography that OneKey MLS serves, primarily through our shareholder associations, LIBOR and HGAR.
Fair housing and inclusive access to housing should be our collective focus 365 days a year, not just during April. Real estate professionals should not be considered the gatekeepers to housing opportunities--we need to be the bridge to housing opportunities. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about private listing networks and more limited approaches to marketing properties. Exposing property listings to the widest possible audience is a win-win for buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants alike, with few exceptions. I respect consumer choice; however, limiting access to listed property can create potential fair housing implications.
Let’s continue exploring how we can broaden access to homeownership and unlock the generational wealth that can accompany it. Let’s focus on building bridges to housing access rather than being the gatekeepers. Let’s make a difference in our communities.
