New York REALTORS Demonstrate Commitment To Fair Housing Awareness

While melting pots of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity exist all across the country, there may be no bigger pot than New York.

New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR) President Christine “C.J.” DelVecchio opened her President’s Message in the March/April edition of New York State REALTOR® magazine with six capitalized words:

EQUAL AND ETHICAL SERVICE TO ALL.

It’s part of the REALTOR® credo, their unofficial oath, but an important obligation that they feel they owe to clients and customers.

In fact, it’s on this very foundation on which the Fair Housing Act was built when it was signed into law 50 years ago.

And while melting pots of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity exist all across the country, there may be no bigger pot than New York.

With the largest city in the country serving as the gateway to America from the East, as well as a border with Canada that welcomes thousands from other countries, New York is the epitome of those who are pursuing the American Dream of Home Ownership.

Which is why NYSAR has made a commitment to spreading continued awareness of Fair Housing.

It started with the dedication of the entire edition of the magazine to not only remind REALTORS® that it was Fair Housing month, but that the anniversary had arrived.

“New York’s REALTORS® work in diverse communities,” DelVecchio said. “Therefore, we have long supported the landmark Fair Housing Act, and have advocated for the inclusion of additional protected classes in New York State law.

“For example, our New York State laws include the protection of sexual orientation, military status, age and most recently, domestic violence victims, from housing discrimination.”

The magazine is filled with editorials written by REALTOR® fair housing partner organizations including the Asian Real Estate Association of America, National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, National Association of Real Estate Brokers and National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. These authors focused on the history of the Fair Housing Act from 1968 to today as well as offering their thoughts for the future.

A property rights timeline as well as a frequently asked questions section of the magazine offer additional details about fair housing as well as a section on potential fair housing violations that may not seem to be so on first glance.

It is a great resource for everyone, not just REALTORS®.

Additionally, NYSAR created nine unique videos featuring members of their association talking about the importance of fair housing in New York.

NYSAR then shared the videos with all of their members and encouraged them to re-share them on all of their media platforms – whether it be local association web sites, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, the goal was to get a lot of eyeballs to serve as a form of advocacy and education not just in the real estate community, but for their clients and consumers as well.

“Fair Housing makes the US and New York stronger by encouraging buyers and sellers to live wherever they choose, regardless of anything other than financial ability,” DelVecchio said. “New York’s REALTORS® embrace their obligation to help buyers and sellers within these Fair Housing laws.

“After all, it’s the RIGHT thing to do.”