The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance today celebrates the first anniversary of its launch having attracted more than 1,700 members, partnerships with the leading companies, brands and Realtor® associations and a long list of achievements in its first 12 months. The Alliance has become the real estate industry’s most prominent voice in the continued fight to protect the LGBTQ+ community from housing discrimination as it also works to grow the community’s homeownership levels and improving the real estate industry’s recognition and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community’s housing needs.
The Alliance, which was founded in June 2020, launched four months later under the leadership of elected President John Thorpe, a 10-person Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Weyandt.
Some of the key highlights of the organization’s first 12 months include:
“It has been a remarkable year in so many ways and I look back with awe at how a group of nearly 60 dedicated real estate professionals came together last summer and spent countless hours creating a transparent and inclusive blueprint for what we now lovingly call the Alliance, an organization which has become synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community and DEI efforts in real estate,” Thorpe said. “Our October 1 anniversary has even more meaning as it comes just days before National Coming Out Day (October 11) when so many are given a platform to be their authentic selves in a society that is becoming increasingly supportive of our community. ”
Thorpe pointed out that The Alliance was forced to cancel its inaugural conference last month due to a spike in COVID-19 in Las Vegas, but will hold Experience: The Alliance virtually on December 9.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us including continuing the fight to get the Equality Act through the Senate to a full vote,” Weyandt said. “There is absolutely no reason that sexual orientation and gender identity should not be protected classes in Fair Housing law and that LGBTQ+ people should not be protected from all forms of discrimination at the federal level. We also have a unique opportunity to showcase the emotional and financial benefits of homeownership to the LGBTQ+ community which continues to lag far behind the national average in homeownership rate. By providing our members with a platform to educate and reach the community, our community within the industry finally has the opportunity to make a substantial impact in touching lives we never thought possible. It is also critical for us to continue to attract allies of the LGBTQ+ community and provide them with an understanding of the unique housing needs, challenges and opportunities LGBTQ+ people have today.”
UCLA’s Williams Institute reports the LGBTQ+ homeownership rate to be 49.8%, far below the U.S. Census’ current national figure of 65.6%.
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