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Teresa Palacios Smith spreading word of Hispanic market share
National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals reflects muscle Hispanics flexing in U.S. real estate markets By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – The numbers that the U.S. Hispanic population is generating can no longer be ignored. They have a 45 percent share in the homeowner market. That is just the beginning of the message Teresa Palacios Smith, the new president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), is spreading wherever she goes. Today, Palacios Smith, a Johns Creek resident, is vice president of Business Development and Cultural Initiatives for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties. She had been a real estate professional for about nine years and had been deeply involved in the Hispanic community including serving as chairwoman of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (she was also 2007 Member of the Year). That kept her involved in Hispanic business affairs and gave her the opportunity to get back to her Colombian cultural roots. Although Palacios Smith was born in the U.S., her parents were first-generation Americans. She became involved in NAHREP when her boss President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices GA Properties Dan Forsman insisted she attend a national NAHREP conference in Denver 11 years ago. “It changed the course of my life forever,” she said. “I felt an immediate connection with NAHREP. The mission of the organization, the people, their energy, the passion and the professionalism of the people I was meeting was so impressive. “The missing link that I didn’t have at the chamber was that it was all real estate. It was all people in my industry, and I had such a commonality with them.” She immediately decided Atlanta needed a NAHREP chapter. With the help of two other Atlantans at that conference, James Altamirano and Bobby Armes, they formed the Atlanta chapter of NAHREP. “We saw the need to provide advocacy and to educate agents on how to serve the booming Hispanic market. We felt there was no one representing the interest of this community,”
So we have huge initiatives before us. But we are confident we can meet these goals.” TERESA PALACIOS SMITH President of (NAHREP) Palacios Smith said. Among her goals for NAHREP are to show the community to build wealth and diversify investments. For most Hispanics, their homes were there main investment and the recession hurt them badly as home values plummeted by two-thirds. That means investing 401ks, stocks and bonds. So there is a 10-year goal to triple Latino wealth in America. Part of that equation is to raise home ownership from 35 percent to 50 percent. NAHREP also wants to improve the success of Hispanic businesses, especially in the first year. “Most fail in that first year,” she said. “So we have huge initiatives before us. But we are confident we can meet these goals.” She said it is important to recognize the culture and the traditions that drive Hispanic community along with the love for family. It all combines to give the Hispanic community a unique approach to business and more importantly for Palacios Smith home ownership. “You have to get to know someone almost on a personal basis before you can do business with them,” she said. “You have to establish a real relationship.” That includes advocacy and creating opportunities. And the Hispanic community cuts across the entire American social strata. “There is one thing we all have in common, and that is that dream of home ownership,” she said. Palacios Smith said she remembers vividly what it meant to her parents when they bought their first home. All of the family was at the closing to witness it. “Even though there were eight of us in this 3-bedroom, 1-bath house living under one
Teresa Palacios Smith, center, is congratulated by President/ CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices GA Properties Dan Forsman and Kathy Connelly, senior vice president of Corporate Services. roof, it felt like a mansion to us,” she said. “We were rich because we were living the dream in our own home.” The professional growth – leadership skills, professional connections she has gained through NAHREP – has been extremely valuable, she said. Because of her involvement in Hispanic community development, it allowed her to become one of HUD’s local listing agents in Georgia. That one contract with her company provided job opportunities for her company and led to over 400 closings and $33 million in real estate value. Just last week Palacios Smith was in Washington, D.C., to meet with HUD Secretary Julian Castro to discuss housing issues that affect her constituents. “I would never have had these opportunities without the connections that NAHREP offered me,” she said. • Palacios Smith also serves on the board of the Metro Atlanta Relocation Council (MARC). • In 2014, Teresa was honored as a Woman of Influence in Real Estate by Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. • In 2015, she was featured in Allan Dalton’s new book, “Creating Real Estate Connections.” • A recent Wall Street Journal report shows that Hispanics are the fastest growing segment in both first-time buyers and in the luxury market. The NAHREP reports that the impact to the U.S. economy by higher income Latinos will represent $680 million by 2016.
Johns Creek Herald | July 23, 2015 | 17
NAHREP making sure Market share recognized Professional RE organization builds Hispanic links that nurture burgeoning Hispanic buying power NEW YORK – The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Association has a dual purpose. First and foremost it helps its member Realtors become better and more successful in their profession. It also lobbies national, state and local authorities to protect and nurture Hispanic community of 53 million in its quest to realize the American dream of home ownership. “We’re purpose driven and we’re propelled by our passion that is a combination of entrepreneurial spirit, our cultural heritage and advocacy for our members,” said NAHRED President Teresa Palacios Smith. 1. Educate and empower the real estate professionals who serve Hispanic homebuyers and sellers. 2. Advocate for public policy that supports the trade association’s mission – sustainable Hispanic homeownership. 3. Facilitate relationships among industry stakeholders – the real estate practitioners and other housing industry professionals. The stakes in the Hispanic market are huge: • The purchasing power of Hispanics is $1.5 trillion, roughly equal to that of Canada. It is projected to grow to $2.0 trillion by 2020. • Nearly 1 million U.S.-born Hispanics reach adulthood and join the labor market each year. One U.S. child in 4 is Hispanic. One of them turns 18 every minute. • Hispanics are expected to account for 7 million of the 17 million new households formed between 2010 and 2025. • Georgia had the fourth-largest growth with 103,000 new Latino residents. • The 2014 NAHREP State of Hispanic Homeownership Report states that 320,000 new Hispanic households were formed in the United States representing 40 percent of total U.S. household growth.
Pushing Decision Making Down As a small business owner, are you making all of the decisions while running your business? Do your employees flock to you everyday so that you can make a decision about something? Do you delegate decision making to your employees for certain things? Making all the decisions in your small business is time consuming and a waste of time for decisions that can easily be made by others. Pushing decision making down in your organization will free up more of your time and empower others to make prudent decisions. You can’t just push decision making down to your employees without guidelines. A simple list of what decisions they can make on their own is a good starting point. Letting them know what the decision options are and also when they need to escalate the decision to you, will help guide their behavior. Many employees are afraid of making decisions for fear of
DICK JONES
Founder & President Jones Simply Sales
making the wrong one. This fear needs to be eliminated by assuring them that some decisions might not be the best, but it is certainly better than the time it takes to hunt you down to make the decision for them. Enabling and empowering decision making lower in the organization will actually speed up the process and typically results in better performance. Saying “I’ll get back to you after I speak with my boss” certainly isn’t as fast as saying “Yes” or “No.” Pushing decision making down will free up your time and increase the speed in which decisions are made in your small business.