Tallahassee real estate association working to close gap in homeownership rates for Black people

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The Fair Housing Act was passed on April 11, 1968, banning discrimination in real estate and mortgage lending across the country.

In Tallahassee, a local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers is working to close the gap in homeownership rates for Black people.

Darrell and Angela Wills own Team Wills Real Estate in Tallahassee. Darrell is also the president of the Tallahassee Association of Realtists. He said their main goal is to educate and increase homeownership for Black people.

“There are a lot of roadblocks or barriers to entry sometimes for people who look like me, and there always have been, and we want to be a part of assisting people and helping them get past those roadblocks in whatever way we can,” Willis said.

According to the National Association of Realtors, from 2012 to 2022, there were only slight increases for homeownership by race, but the gap shows that white homeownership is nearly 30 percent higher than Black homeownership. Wills said this is not a new problem but a result of practices dating back more than 50 years.

“There are a lot of things that have transpired over years to allow us to get to the point where the gap is so big because there are some people who decided that we’re going to stand in your way,” Wills said.

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In 1947, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers was founded, also known as NAREB. According to the organization, the homeownership gap is because Black real estate professionals were not allowed to become members of the National Association of Realtors until 1961, so NAREB members were called “realtists.”

“To keep our eyes focused not just where we’re going but where we’ve been to understand that what our ancestors actually did to help us get to the point where my wife and I can sit and celebrate 20 years as realtors and 20 years as realtist,” Wills said.

Keldrick Williams bought his first home about six months ago.

“It was challenging for me, and I say that because I never been through it. I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I wanted a house,” Williams said.

It was a goal he wasn’t sure was possible, but he said he is thankful for people like Darrell who took the time to educate him on how to turn his dream into reality

“It’s an amazing feeling. I really can’t put it into words. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, and for me to accomplish it, it’s amazing,” Williams said.

For Darrell, he said real estate is not about money; it’s about closing the gap and providing opportunities.

“It’s so much more gratifying on this end of it because you really have changed not only their life, but their kid’s life and people around them forever,” Wills said.

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