It is commonplace for NAGLREP members to receive emails from prospective home buyers and sellers who self-identify as gay or lesbian and who specifically want to work with an LGBTQ realtor for a property purchase or sale.

One recent email received through the NAGLREP.com website came from a woman who was seeking a home for herself and her wife. In her email, she asked to have “someone in the queer community on our side as we navigate first-time homeownership.”

Another emailed request sought an LGBTQ realtor who knew a specific market – the inquiry stressed the individual was eager to “buy in a safe place that is also convenient to my work.” And yet another request asked for assistance in identifying a community “that offers walking to gay establishments (bars, restaurants, clubs, etc.).”

The LGBTQ homeownership rate is 49%, which is nearly 20% below the national average. But for this demographic, home buying comes with issues that don’t often impact other groups. For example, a recent NAGLREP LGBT Real Estate Report found that 32% of LGBTQ people live in the same general location as where they went to high school, compared to 72% of the general population – this means most LGBTQ buyers are going into communities where they are unfamiliar with the housing market and the sociopolitical sentiments therein. 

Also, 46% of LGBTQ buyers approach this process with a fear of experiencing discrimination – which is understandable because the U.S. Fair Housing Act does not prohibit bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity while 18 states and five U.S. territories offer no legal protection for an LGBTQ home buyer who is the subject of housing discrimination.

This becomes particularly acute when one considers the quiet migration in recent years of LGBTQ households who have moved out of urban centers and into the suburbs for a better quality of life – including better schools for their children. The Family Equality Council estimates that between 2 million and 3.7 million children under age 18 have an LGBTQ parent and approximately 191,000 children are being raised by two same-sex parents. It is estimated that 29% of LGBTQ adults are now raising a child who is under the age of 18. This could create the proverbial Catch-22 – no parent would intentionally move into an area that would be hostile to their family members, but statistics show that most LGBTQ buyers look for property in areas where they did not previously live.

LGBTQ real estate professionals have a double duty when working with gay and lesbian buyers – they are tasked with finding the best available property while also guaranteeing that their clients will not be treated as pariahs or targets in their new neighborhoods. It is not surprising that many gay and lesbian home buyers and seller  specifically seek out LGBTQ real estate brokers on NAGLREP.com or its partner site LGBTQRealEstatePros.com.

Of course, there are many straight men and women who are allied with the LGBTQ community, members of NAGLREP, and bring sincerity and seriousness in helping LGBTQ home buyers find the right home. And on the flip side, a gay realtor or a lesbian realtor would be just as capable in offering professional support to straight men and women – their clients are not exclusive to the LGBTQ world.

Nonetheless, there are still many gays and lesbians who are coming to the housing market with trepidation. Fortunately for them, NAGLREP’s real estate brokers are available to address their specific concerns while helping them access the American Dream of homeownership.