A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT ZIEGLER
Greetings Alliance Fam,
It’s one of my favorite times of year, PRIDE! That means something different for everyone within the LGBTQ+ community but, for me it’s a reminder of our past, an assessment of our current and the dream of what could be. What is now a celebration, began as a raid & riot. Our community has faced and confronted years of hatred, misunderstanding and violence but has also endured, adapted and thrived. PRIDE is about showing up and being celebrated for who you truly are, free of all judgement. How wonderful would the world be if everyone celebrated that version of PRIDE, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day?
Advocacy has been on our mind this year, especially as we head into our Annual Policy Symposium in Washington, D.C. Similar to last year, Alliance members will be making Capitol Hill visits, hearing from policy experts, politicians and industry leaders and we will be expanding our impact globally, through participation in World PRIDE. Members who attend will also be the first to get access to our 5th annual LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance Report. In response to the current climate in America, this year’s report is focused on exploring discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
Members I speak with want to expand advocacy efforts and our leadership team agrees. For those who are activists and want to roll up your sleeves and get to work, we are starting an advocacy task force to help our leadership identify opportunities for increased advocacy and to strategize and help implement efforts to affect change within our local communities and chapters. This will be a working committee. If you’re interested in volunteering & being part of that important conversation, please email me directly to sign-up!
As always, if there is anything we can be doing for you to create value in your membership, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of our leadership team! We all wish you an inspiring and meaningful PRIDE.
Yours in activism,
Justin “JZ” Ziegler
2025 National President & Board Chair
Justin “JZ” Ziegler
2025 National President & Board Chair
LGBTQ+ REAL ESTATE HOUSING SYMPOSIUM THIS WEEK IN D.C.
LGBTQ+ REAL ESTATE HOUSING SYMPOSIUM THIS WEEK IN D.C.
It’s time for the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Housing Symposium. Later this week, members of LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance will visit their elected Congresspeople and Senators then meet at the Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® to address such critical topics as:
- Defending LGBTQ+ rights in a time of backlash
- Inclusive real estate strategies can drive profit and performance
- The Clear Cooperation policy and its impact on LGBTQ+ buyers and sellers
- The state of the U.S. housing market
- Addressing the financial literacy and homebuyer education needs of the next generation
- Evolution of grassroots advocacy
We will be joined by such industry and community icons as:
- M. Ryan Gorman, Co-Founder, btcREsults
- HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy
- Sherry Chris, special advisor to NAR CEO Nykia Wright
- HomeServices of America Chief Inclusion and Engagement Officer Teresa Palacios Smith
- Rocket Mortgage Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Brittanie Chin-Merkenson
- Roderick Logan, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Business Enablement Anywhere Real Estate
- Cody Gilkeson, Senior Manager of Community Engagement, eXp Realty
- Laurie Benner, Associate Vice President of Housing and Community Development, National Fair Housing Alliance
June 5
Visit Capitol Hill to meet with elected leaders
Reception
June 6
Full-day of learning, engaging and networking with some of the most influential names in LGBTQ+ and housing policy.
MARY MANCERA KICKS OFF PRIDE IN INMAN
LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance interim-CEO Mary Mancera has authored a PRIDE Month kickoff column for Inman News. Along with showcasing the history of PRIDE Month and explaining why this year’s events are so important, Mary addresses a sizable number in the REALTORS® community who have LGBTQ+ children and therefore have a significant place in the fight for equality with us.
ALLIANCE MAGAZINE DEBUTS THIS MONTH
LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance celebrates PRIDE Month with the debut of our third annual The Alliance magazine. The 29-page magazine pays tribute to the late Alliance leader Tim Garvey and is also filled with so much great information including inspiring stories about our members including:
- Justin Ziegler has embraced his LGBTQ+ leadership role
- Jamie Zapata’s journey from HIV diagnosis to advocating real estate star
- Melissa Young and her fight to protect LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians
- Jeanie Kendall supports queer youth
- Michael Sochia develops easier path for TGX mortgage borrowers
JOIN US FOR: WHY INCLUSION MATTERS
A virtual conversation about how businesses and brokerages are discovering that inclusivity isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a powerful driver of profit, performance and long-term success.
Moderator: Justin Ziegler
Brittanie Chin Merkerson – Rocket Mortgage
Sheila Klostermann, ENACTMI
Roderick Logan, Anywhere Real Estate
Shawna Hernandez, First American Title
JOIN US FOR: LGBTQ ACTIVISM & ADVOCACY THROUGH PERSONAL ACTION
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Peter Rosenstein, a trailblazing LGBTQ author, activist and community leader, as he shares his powerful journey of personal activism and the lessons learned from decades of fighting for equality. Peter will discuss how activism intersects in our personal and professional lives. Whether it’s standing up against discrimination, supporting LGBTQ clients or leveraging your personal platform for social impact.
2025 National President Justin Ziegler and Author Peter Rosenstein
PROTECT FAIR HOUSING: TAKE ACTION TO SAVE CRITICAL FUNDING
- Along with yourself, contact five (5) others to urge them to contact their members of Congress in support of fully funding FHIP. Feel free to utilize and share NFHA’s Action Alert: Act Now: Urge Congress to Support Critical Fair Housing Enforcement Funding in the FY ‘26 Budget
- Sign and circulate the Change.org petition in support of funding FHIP: Petition · Seniors, Veterans, Survivors Could Lose Housing Protections — Speak Out Now! – United States · Change.org
- Utilize a full suite of available NFHA resources to address fair housing in your market
ALLIANCE AT ARIZONA REALTORS
Special thanks to Matthew Hoedt and Alliance Arizona for representing the Alliance at Arizona REALTORS’ Leadership Training Academy last month. This was an opportunity for open dialog and great conversations for us to have with several of NAR’s recognized Affinity/Multicultural Partners and the incoming presidents-elect of Arizona’s 14 local and state associations.
SNEAK PEAK: SOME FINDING FROM THE 5TH ANNUAL LGBTQ+ REAL ESTATE REPORT
The Alliance’s 5th annual LGBTQ+ Real Estate Report will be unveiled at the LGBTQ+ Housing Policy Symposium later this week in Washington, D.C.
Along with reviewing the impact of discrimination on LGBTQ+ real estate professionals, along with current and prospective homebuyers and sellers, the report also addresses the current and future impact of the current administration’s efforts to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming and the continued attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.
Some of the critical findings include:
- A third of responding Alliance members reported seeing an increase in discrimination against potential LGBTQ+ homeowners over the past three years – the highest level recorded by the Alliance since it began reporting in 2022.
- For the first time since 2022, Alliance members cited real estate professionals as the leading source of housing discrimination (22.2%).
- The percentage of responding Alliance members who believe that the fear of housing discrimination as a barrier to LGBTQ+ entry into homeownership has almost doubled since 2022 (25.2% in 2025 vs. 12.2% in 2022), now joining high home prices and lack of downpayment funds in the top three most visible barriers.
- Nearly 60% (58.5%) of LGBTQ+ respondents believe the current administration’s anti-TGX (transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming) policies will lead to more TGX people and families with a TGX child relocating. This was 16% more than what heterosexual respondents reported. Additionally, compared to heterosexual respondents, LGBTQ+ people were 24.7% more likely to believe the policies will lead to more non-TGX LGBTQ+ individuals and their families relocating.
- Parents of heterosexual children were 10.4% more likely to believe their child would have equal access to homeownership than parents of LGBTQ+ children.
- Parents of heterosexual children were 23.1% more likely to believe their child would achieve financial stability compared to parents of LGBTQ+ children.
- While 71.4% of those with a heterosexual child believed their child would have equal access to Fair Housing, only 49.0% of those with an LGBTQ+ child agreed.
WE ROCK!
Findings from our annual member survey show how the Alliance membership compares to the overall REALTOR community in critical metrics. Take a look:
- 31.9% of responding Alliance members generated at least $150,000 in gross revenue in 2024, while only 20% of all REALTORS achieved that mark.
- 77.2% of responding Alliance members have been in real estate for at least least six years compared to 70% of all REALTORS.
- 27.2% of Alliance member respondents reported they generated at least $8 million in 2024 sales volume, dramatically higher than the overall REALTOR figure of 17%.
ALLIES WANTED
The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance’s Certified Ally Course has changed the lives of nearly 2,000 previous attendees who have gained great insight into the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on how unconscious bias impacts so many.
Do you have a friend or colleague who is already an ally? What about those who want to learn about the LGBTQ+ community? Or those in the industry with an LGBTQ+ child? If so, share the details about our next Alliance Certified Ally course set for June 12 from 2-4 ET
The Alliance Certified Ally course allows attendees to put their support for the LGBTQ+ to work!
FREDDIE MAC HAS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Alliance partner Freddie Mac has created a variety of learning opportunities that are FREE for Alliance members. Take a look and register for those that interest you.
June 17
Matching Borrowers to Down Payment Assistance with DPA One
Tuesday, June 17
2 – 3 p.m. ET
SHOW YOUR PRIDE IN THE ALLIANCE
This is the perfect time to get your LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance merch! We’ve got stickers, decals and shirts!
