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Brokering while Black: Agents share tales of discrimination

Black agents make far less money than white peers, face big challenges

(Getty; Illustration by The Real Deal)
(Getty; Illustration by The Real Deal)

Housing discrimination against homeowners remains a pervasive issue in real estate, but brokers and agents struggle with discrimination too.

Several Black real estate agents spoke to the New York Times about discrimination they’ve faced in the field and the lengths they’ve gone to in trying to counteract it.

Discrimination is particularly prevalent during showings, agents said.

“I’m always sure I have my license ready,” said North Carolina agent Tye Williams, wary of how neighbors look at him when he arrives at a house.

Williams even goes as far as to use Tye as his first name, rather than Tyrone.

Black agents will also omit photos from marketing materials and rely on potential clients to work with them based only on their credentials. Lawn signs are not beneficial to some Black agents.

Chastin Miles recalled an incident in 2018 when he was showing a 6,000-square-foot, $3 million home in Dallas. A white couple walked in, saw Miles there, turned around and left.

“​​I’m not supposed to be here,” Miles thought after the incident.

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He started working with white agents to serve as greeters at opening houses, only for prospective homeowners to be directed to refer questions to Miles, surprising many.

Some say brokerages share the blame, too, through a lack of support and unfair commissions.

Racism in the industry isn’t only demoralizing — it can be dangerous. In 2021, Michigan realtor Eric Brown and his client were handcuffed while the agent was trying to show a home.

Only 6 percent of real estate agents are Black, despite 14 percent of Americans being Black, and white agents make almost three times as much as their Black counterparts, according to the National Association of Realtors. A survey from the group put the median white real estate agents’ residential sales at $356,000, while for Black agents it was $246,000.

NAR infamously lobbied against the Fair Housing Act in 1968, only seven years after a ban on Black members of the trade group was lifted. It apologized for complicity in racist housing practices three years ago and implemented the ACT Initiative, but many agents say it doesn’t go far enough.

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— Holden Walter-Warner

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BrokeragesDiscriminationNational Association Of Realtors