Casa Latino opens office in Philly

While some real estate franchises are closing, Florida-based Casa Latino expects to double its number of offices this year.  President Robb Heering, who says his company is becoming one of the fastest-growing real estate franchises in the world, started Casa Latino in 2005 to help underserved markets. He says the name lets the Latino market know his agents understand their needs; today, a majority of his agents are bilingual and Hispanic.

Tobias Biddle, Robb Heering and Maria Falu-Rodriguez

Pennsylvania REALTOR® Maria Falu opened a Casa Latino office in the Golden Block area of Philadelphia in July. The Puerto Rican-born Falu has been a REALTOR® since 1998 and is working to earn her broker’s license. “The beauty of Casa Latino is that it isn’t just for Hispanics,” Falu adds. “The company wants to make the homebuying process simpler for everyone but especially those who don’t feel comfortable with the process.”

Heering says the Hispanic market has $1 trillion dollars of spending power yet only 50 percent of the eligible people own homes. According to an online article by Oscar Gonzales of the Gonzales Group, “In the past seven years, 40 percent of U.S. population growth has come from immigration. Two in five consumers under 45 are Hispanic, Black or Asian (vs. one in five for 65- plus).”

Casa Latino has set up programs to help consumers in these underserved markets. “They may not currently qualify,” Heering says, “but we’re willing to work with people. It may take three months or two years but we’ll get them there. The Latino market is the fastest-growing in the country. If you’re not geared up, you’re going to be playing catch up.”

A former mortgage broker, Heering helped his earlier clients improve their credit, understand the homebuying process and stay away from subprime lending. His clientele was more than 30 percent Hispanic.  “There’s so much satisfaction in helping people find a home that I made the decision to sell real estate instead of the mortgages,” Heering says.

Falu echoes these comments: “I believe homeownership is the grounds for building wealth. Nationally 50,000 Latinos turn 18 every month. I want to help educate them so they are positive members of their communities.”

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Tags: Casa Latino, Gonzales Group, Hispanic

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