Thread: Realtors speaking customers' language

Realtors speaking customers' language
Communication barriers fall in diversifying market
BY VANESSA GREGORY
e-mail: vgregory@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Oct 20 2007 2:40 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Oct 20 2007 6:14 PM

Californian staff writer


Jesse Atondo explains to Maribel Miranda the options her family has in buying a home. Many of Atondo’s clients are Spanish speakers. He is a leading real estate agent in sales with Watson Realty.

With four Spanish-speaking assistants and a marketing strategy focused on the largely Hispanic farm towns of Arvin and Lamont, Jesse Atondo is one of a growing number of real estate professionals capitalizing on immigrant roots and multiple language fluency.

Last year, he says, he closed more than 60 homes. At least 50 sold to buyers in the Latino community. Many of them only spoke Spanish.

"You know, 95 percent of my business comes from the Latino community here in Kern County," Atondo said. "No doubt it's an edge. I have an advantage over people that just speak one language."

Realtors under 40, like the 27-year-old Atondo, are more likely to be fluent in a language other than English, according to the National Association of Realtors. Only 12 percent of real estate agents over 60 speak a second language, compared with 21 percent of younger real estate professionals, the association reports. About half of all agents who are fluent in a second language speak Spanish.

The son of farmworkers, Atondo got his real estate license after graduating from Cal State Bakersfield and noticing nearly all the real estate advertisements in the Arvin and Lamont community newspapers were printed in English. He still advertises in those papers, but today his business thrives on word-of-mouth referrals, Atondo said.

At Watson-Touchstone Real Estate, where Atondo works, sales manager J.R. Lewis says he does not go out of his way to hire bilingual agents, but recognizes fluency in a foreign language as a powerful tool to bring in more business.

"This is California in 2007," Lewis said. "Spanish is part of our business language."

And, increasingly, other languages matter, too, he said.

"We have a thriving Filipino community in Kern County," Lewis said. "The fact that we have agents that speak Tagalog is really important."

Lou Galsim, an agent fluent in Tagalog and several Filipino dialects, said being bilingual helps her succeed, even though the majority of her customers speak English.

"In a sense, there's more security for them," Galsim said. "In the sense that we speak the same language, there is a comfort, an assurance."

Deepinder Singh, a commercial real estate agent who speaks Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, said his experience with customers has been similar.

"When I'm talking to a Punjabi," Singh said, "it's in Punjabi."

He deals mainly in agricultural land, gas stations, convenience stores and other commercial properties from Bakersfield to Visalia. Singh, who started selling real estate in January, said being multilingual has sparked his new career.

"Bakersfield has a big community that's Punjabi," Singh said.

And while many of the immigrants he works with already run successful businesses and speak English, they may be less knowledgeable about real estate transactions, he said.

The Bakersfield Association of Realtors is surveying members to find out how many are bilingual, but results are not yet available, said spokeswoman Corrine Coats.

Local veterans suggest the percentage may be high. Terri Garcia, a Delano native who has been catering to Hispanic buyers and sellers for 18 years, said few bilingual agents worked in the real estate industry when she started her career.

"No, there were not very many at all," Garcia said. "There were just a few of us. Now it's very competitive."

New breed of agents

Young real estate professionals are more likely to be bilingual.

• 15 percent of Realtors are fluent in a language other than English.

• 21 percent of real estate professionals under 40 are fluent in a language other than English.

• 12 percent of Realtors age 60 and over speak a second language.

• 13 percent of Realtors under age 40 were born outside the United States.

• 7 percent of real estate professionals over 60 were born outside the United States.

Source: National Association of Realtors Member Profile

http://www.bakersfield.com/137/story/264814.html

We also have a lot in our politicle ststem now .

"This is California in 2007," Lewis said. "Spanish is part of our business language."

THIS IS AMERICA AND BUSINESS SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN ENGLISH, NOT SPANISH. HOW ELSE DO YOU EXPECT ANYONE TO ASSIMILATE? IMO, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE IS BECOMING A HUGE BURDEN TO EVERYONE. It slows down the business of our state, both local and federal governments, hospitals, retail, and all sorts of other manufacturers and industries.

This is what our town does.

a majority of them are taking out loans tehy know they cannot pay back.

..... and the gov't wants taxpayers to cover it

They are catering to illegal aliens, period! Most legal Hispanics in this country are bi-lingual so there would no need to cater to them in Spanish.

I'm Hispanic and I do speak Spanish very well because my grandparents were bilingual. I think learning another language is good but I feel people need to speak one language to represent their country. I have been very disgusted at seeing countless people come here and only speak Spanish. From August 2004 until of July of this year I worked as a salesperson at a furniture store. I loved the job very much and I was able to earn money to pay for my college education. One of the major downsides of the job was dealing with Spanish speaking people who would come in to shop for furniture. When I first started my job a couple of other Hispanic co-workers and I made a pact not to cater to Spanish speaking people. It worked well and we were able to give our English speaking customers good service because communication was easy. Often those who spoke Spanish often got service from a lady in her 50's who believed in catering to them. Often times they would leave the store when nobody there wanted to service them. My fellow co-workers and I felt right doing what we did because in the past countless people from different countries have immigrated legally to this country and never expected anyone to cater to them with another language. Most of my relatives who speak Spanish never cater to Spanish speakers. I'm a huge supporter K.C. McAlpin's group Pro English.

You deserve a standing ovation!

"Browneyes" It is always good to know more than one language, the important thing is you can speak english and commuicate with your fellow Americans. Language is what brings us together as a Nation. Alot of people don't care or want to learn english.

Wow that is awesome Browneyes. I am also of Mexican ancestry and grew up in a household with languages spoken.

I have come across Mexicans where I kind of see what they would do. I would speak to them in Spanish, and they refuse to speak in Spanish. Instead they speak to me in English. Those folks truly got my respect.

Anyone who enters a foreign country...SHOULD and MUST learn the language, even if it is the basic just to get by incase of emergency.

I remember not so long ago, a cruise ship I think it was a Norgwegian Cruise ship. So something happen, and many started to worry BUT they got more worrier because not one person knew one common language. In other words, everyone on that ship on his own. One American woman I remember stated not even the crew knew English. That ship was a Tower of Babel. There was confusion because no one knew what to do and were waiting for the captain who didn't know any language. When I saw that in the new, I immediately knew that would be our country's in the future.

Also does anyone remember a ship that collided onto a port or something next to some mall or a small shopping area in Louisianna? The report stated it was because the person directing the ship didn't know a word of English and didn't understand what was being said.

Well folks...this should be a very cautionary tale if we are not careful.