Culture & Bias in Real Estate

All agents have to complete real estate continuing education, but the best don't stop there. Our industry is ever-changing, and the most successful agents are the ones who never stop learning.

That’s why we’ve put together this collection of deep-dive resources just for you. These resources go beyond what's covered in our New York Cultural Competency & Implicit Bias CE course, giving you deeper insights, fresh perspectives, and actionable strategies to apply in your day-to-day business. So dive into these expert-approved reads and keep pushing your business forward.

1️⃣ Open Minds Boost Bottom Lines

This University of Washington Foster School of Business article reports on research showing that real estate agents who actively learn about other cultures end up doing more business with diverse clients.

It’s a compelling reminder that cultural competency isn’t just “nice to have” – it can increase your sales. Agents with high cultural intelligence (a willingness to learn about different cultures) closed more deals with clients from different backgrounds, especially when their brokerage encouraged diversity.

In short, having an open mind and adapting to clients’ cultural needs doesn’t just prevent missteps – it gives you a competitive edge and helps you build a reputation as a trusted, inclusive professional.

2️⃣ Making Bias Training Work

Written by a legal team attuned to the real estate industry, this article discusses how to get real value out of the new implicit bias training requirements in places like New York. It notes that simply checking the box isn’t enough – effective trainings should cover many types of bias (race, gender, age, etc.), include real estate scenarios (like avoiding steering or biased appraisals), and even encourage using tools like Harvard’s Implicit Association Test.

The piece highlights that major industry players (from brokers to appraisers) are embracing deeper education, and it cites research that training works best when it focuses on changing behavior and tracking progress. Real estate pros will find concrete tips here for moving beyond a one-time class toward an ongoing practice of self-awareness and fairness in their client interactions.

3️⃣ Why Bias is Bad for Business

This journal article breaks down a landmark HUD-sponsored study and its eye-opening findings: even when outright housing discrimination declined, minority buyers and renters still were told about and shown fewer listings than equally qualified white clients. The result? Fewer options for those clients and fewer deals for you.

The article makes it clear that such implicit bias isn’t just unethical – it actively “hinders sales volume in the real estate market”. In other words, if you (even unintentionally) give some clients less information or avoid certain areas, you’re limiting your own earning potential and contributing to problems like segregation that ultimately drag down the market for everyone.

It’s a powerful reminder that practicing inclusion and showing every client all their options is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do for your business.

4️⃣ Real Advice for Cross-Cultural Deals

In this engaging read, three top Canadian REALTORS® share their personal strategies for working with clients from different cultural backgrounds. Their tips are down-to-earth and immediately useful: for example, avoid slang and real estate jargon when there’s a language barrier, and always be truthful and patient because some clients may test your trustworthiness with questions.

One REALTOR® describes how understanding a Chinese buyer’s feng shui concerns about a home’s front door orientation can be a deal-maker, or how she learned to pause before entering a house so her Muslim client could say a short prayer. These anecdotes show that small gestures – like learning a client’s customs or being mindful of religious practices – can go a long way in building rapport.

Any agent who reads this will pick up practical communication techniques to make clients from any culture feel comfortable, respected, and eager to do business.

5️⃣ Housing Discrimination Timeline

This interactive timeline by Habitat for Humanity provides a quick tour of how U.S. housing policies systematically excluded people of color, and it really puts today’s issues in perspective. It starts in the 1930s with redlining maps that deemed minority neighborhoods “hazardous” for lenders, goes through the 1940s-50s when FHA-backed loans and GI Bill benefits mostly favored white families, and shows how only 2% of government-backed mortgages between 1934 and 1962 went to nonwhite borrowers.

By the time you scroll to the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and beyond, you understand why there’s still a homeownership gap today. For agents, knowing this history is powerful – it explains why trust might be lacking and why fair housing laws exist. This resource is free, visual, and engaging, and it will deepen your appreciation for the importance of treating every client fairly.

After all, we’re helping to undo a legacy of discrimination, one respectful interaction at a time.

6️⃣ Check Yourself: Bias Override

One way to truly grow in cultural competency is to uncover your own hidden biases. The National Association of REALTORS® put out a 50-minute training video called “Bias Override” that uses real-life scenarios to show how easily our brains can stereotype without us realizing. This accompanying blog post invites agents to watch that video (free for members) and then take an online Implicit Association Test (IAT) to “diagnose” your own unconscious biases.

It’s a friendly challenge – you might be surprised by the results, but that insight is invaluable. By actively testing yourself and learning from the video’s tips to override bias, you’ll be better prepared to treat all clients equally and avoid knee-jerk reactions.

Think of it as a tune-up for your mindset: it’s engaging, eye-opening, and helps you align your good intentions with good practices every day.

7️⃣ Fair Housing 101 & FAQs

If you want a one-stop refresher on fair housing and bias prevention, this guide from The Close (a real estate resource site) is gold. It’s an easy read that covers the basics – what the Fair Housing Act is, who the protected classes are – and then goes further into what discrimination looks like in real life and how it’s enforced.

What makes it super relevant are the FAQs and examples tailored for agents: e.g. “Is this a safe neighborhood?” or “Are there good schools here?” are common client questions that can put you in a tight spot. This guide suggests smart, neutral ways to answer those without violating any rules (like guiding clients to do their own research on crime or school quality).

It even lists recent stats on housing complaints, so you know what pitfalls to watch out for. By reading this, you’ll get clear do’s and don’ts and feel more confident that you’re providing great service and staying on the right side of fair housing law – a win-win for your clients and your career.