Houston brokerage backs trade group focused on Hispanic market

The largest brokerage in the Houston market has committed $5,000 to the local chapter of a real estate trade group focused on serving the Hispanic community.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene announced a "partner level" sponsorship of the Houston chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) this week.

The firm's sponsorship will support mandatory continuing education courses for real estate professionals in the Houston metro area and help promote the trade group's events.

"By 2015 the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 59 percent of the Houston metro population will be of multicultural descent, most of which will be Hispanic," said Mark Woodroof, partner with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene, in a statement. "A strong relational approach to the Hispanic consumer base is critical and the partnership with NAHREP-Houston will be important to the lifestyle culture of our service delivery,"

The sponsorship comes with benefits available to all "partner level" sponsors, but none that are exclusive to Gary Greene or its agents, Woodroof told Inman News.

The firm is among the top 60 brokerages in the country by transaction sides and sales volume in 2011, according to the latest figures from Real Trends. The brokerage dropped its affiliation with Prudential Real Estate Services to join the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand in June 2012. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene has more than 850 agents in 20 offices. The brokerage recently featured ads on 12 school buses in its market area.

NAHREP's stated mission is to increase sustainable Hispanic home ownership by empowering the real estate professionals that service the community.

"NAHREP-Houston understands that the Houston real estate market continues to change both demographically and technologically," said Herman Rodriguez, NAHREP-Houston president and vice president of Wells Fargo & Co.'s Business Banking Group, in a statement. "We want to bring innovation in both forms to our local Realtors. By sharing insight of the Latino demographic through education, we feel this partnership will be inclusive of all cultures and help us all succeed."