NAHREP’s mission is to promote sustainable Hispanic homeownership. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we have strived to serve all our members, sponsors, and stakeholders with programing, advocacy, and resources that help drive that mission.
Since COVID-19 first began to appear in the United States, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has been hard at work with advocacy, membership support, and leadership to address the challenges this pandemic presents.
Advocacy
In an effort to advance sustainable homeownership for Latinos, NAHREP focuses on three pillars of advocacy:
- Promoting access to affordable home loan financing — particularly for first-time homebuyers
- Increasing the supply of housing inventory, with an emphasis on spurring the production of entry-level, owner-occupied housing
- Championing fair and equitable immigration policies
As Latinos face an outsized share of pandemic-related hardship, ranging from some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infection to a disproportionate share of layoffs, NAHREP has called for critical stimulus supports to prop up small businesses and the Latino workforce, which will be critical to the nation’s economic recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, NAHREP has called on the U.S. Congress and the administration to prioritize support to minority-owned small businesses, including independent contractors, through the Paycheck Protection Program. NAHREP has also advocated to minimize attrition of the Hispanic homeownership rate by expanding forbearance options for borrowers, and ensuring clarity and fairness in the loss mitigation process.
NAHREP has also supported the rescinding of harmful credit overlays that limit access to credit, and providing direct cash stimulus payments, including to mixed-immigration status families that include ITIN holders.
In addition, NAHREP has advocated for policies that ensure the housing industry can remain operational in this changing environment. This includes facilitating remote online notarization (RON) technology for remote mortgage closings, creating a liquidity facility for mortgage servicers to support the growing number of forbearances, and programs to support small “mom and pop” landlords struggling to cover operational costs and are at risk of losing critical wealth building assets to large-scale investors.
Support to members
Amidst the pandemic, NAHREP recognized that the way we do business has to adapt. Some of the greatest breakthroughs of all time came at times of great adversity.
NAHREP has not only pivoted to a digital environment, but has overhauled the way we communicate and bring value to our members. For example, the NAHREP COVID-19 resource center provides detailed information and full FAQs that help members navigate ever-changing developments.
Gone are the days of executing only in-person events. Instead, NAHREP has created hours of digital content, unique to each marketplace, and interactive for members and stakeholders to continue opportunities to network and build their businesses.
Each fall, NAHREP hosts a one-of-a-kind conference that attracts more than 5,000 of the most successful leaders in our industry. This year, the NAHREP Sales Mastery, Real Estate and Wealth Conference at L’ATTITUDE (held Sept. 24-27) will be even more innovative. With live, full-production stages in three different cities across the country and a custom-built digital event platform that will transform the attendee virtual experience, this event is going to shake up the industry.
Leadership
NAHREP is proud to have a strong and diverse leadership team. Most recently, NAHREP president Sara Rodriguez was awarded HousingWire’s Women of Influence award for the second year in a row, making her the first NAHREP leader to win this award multiple times.
Other powerful Latina business owners serving on NAHREP’s national board of directors include Nora Aguirre, Oralia Herrera, Nuria Rivera, Neily Soto, and Alicia Trevino. Women comprise more than half of NAHREP’s executive and senior management teams, and 62 percent of all 2020 chapter presidents are women.
Each year, NAHREP’s Top 250 list recognizes the top Latinos in the real estate and mortgage industry. In 2020, 46 percent of the Top 250 Latino agents in the nation were women. Between both the agent and mortgage originator reports, 384 women were recognized for their dedication in closing an impressive amount of transactions in the 2019 year. For the past three years, Lizy Hoeffer has ranked in the NAHREP Top 250 Mortgage Originators report as the No. 1 Latino mortgage originator in the United States.
As part of our innovative digital content, NAHREP will be hosting a Latina entrepreneurship series that will feature top female executives and producers in our industry, sharing their stories, challenges, and experiences that have brought them to success.
Despite this year’s pandemic-induced challenges, NAHREP continues to promote sustainable Hispanic homeownership in 2020 and beyond.