By Irfan Shariff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA)’s Greater Seattle chapter will host its second annual homeownership expo on Saturday, May 31, to educate first-time homebuyers and connect them with real estate and industry professionals. AREAA’s mission is to advocate for homeownership and education among Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and underserved communities. The event is free to the public and will be held at the Burien Community Center.
Real estate professionals from 2024’s AREAA expo (Courtesy: Frances Nguyen)
“Homeownership is closer than you think,” said Frances Nguyen, the vice president of AREAA’s local chapter. “It’s a great way to increase your net worth and the only way to do that is to buy your first home.” Nguyen is also a mortgage advisor and real estate investor. She believes it is currently an ideal buyer’s market, but people are fearful because of interest rates.
“If you get the opportunity, buy now because home prices might go up in a couple years,” she said. “Interest rates aren’t really everything, you can refinance later.”
Nguyen and her parents arrived as refugees from Vietnam in the 1980s. She grew up in Seattle’s housing projects where her parents worked low-paying jobs. They wanted the American Dream and eventually saved up enough money to buy their first house.
“I never thought that my childhood home would change the trajectory of my life,” she reflected when she bought it from her parents to add to her rental portfolio. The sale allowed her parents to retire and build a house in Vietnam.
“The power of homeownership is closing the wealth gap and creating cash flow,” said Nguyen. She believes this has helped her attain financial freedom and create generational wealth.
Happy young Asian couple and realtor agent. Cheerful young man signing some documents and handshaking with broker while sitting at desk. Signing good condition contract.
A recent report from AREAA polled AAPI populations and found that most believed they have or will achieve the American Dream. It also calculated a national AAPI homeownership rate at 63.2% in 2022. This was up from 57.2% in 2012. Despite the growing numbers and a generally higher level of education and earnings, they believe the AAPI community is still lagging behind others. The National Association of REALTORS said that the 2024 AAPI share in home purchases was only 4%, trailing behind other ethnic groups with white Americans at an 83% share.
Locally, data from the University of Washington (UW)’s Racial Restrictive Covenants Projects shows AAPI homeownership rates in King County steady around 60% from the years 1970-2022, second only to white homeowners.
“In Asian American cultures, people think cash is best and don’t want to have any debt,” Nguyen said. “But having debt is a good thing to build credit.” She would eventually use the equity in her homes to buy more as rentals.
“A lot of people like white Americans who have been here a long time are able to pass down inheritances,” she said. “AAPI immigrants mostly don’t have this wealth. They focus on high-paying W2 jobs.”
It was legal to discriminate in the real estate market until the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. In 1959, Seattle’s Open Housing Campaign began to fight for this right, but it didn’t take legal effect until the federal law passed. Due to previous restrictive covenants, many AAPI populations still congregate in the Central District, the Chinatown-International District, and other south Seattle neighborhoods, though they are more widely distributed now, according to the UW project.
AREAA goes to Washington, D.C. yearly to work toward its three-point plan that focuses on eliminating alien land laws, growing finance solutions, and reducing appraisal bias. Issues like a Florida law that restricts the sale of property to Chinese nationals and creating cultural awareness among appraisers to limit undervaluation of properties owned by people of color, are at the forefront of their talks with lawmakers.
Attendees to AREAA’s homeowner expo can learn about down payment assistance programs and connect with lenders and contractors. Some sessions are available in both English and Spanish. The event is intended for everyone, from first-time homebuyers to investors and developers.
To learn more about AREAA’s Housing and Homeownership Expo, go to https://areaa.org/greaterseattle/event/home-ownership-360-expo.