BTB Exclusive - Home ownership among Georgia's Asian Pacific Community

Bobby L. Hickman

August 29, 2008

Promoting home ownership among Georgia's Asian Pacific community is one of the primary goals of the newly-formed Greater Atlanta chapter of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA).

The Atlanta chapter held an inaugural ball Thursday night to formally kick off the group. More than 200 area real estate professionals were on hand for the event, along with representatives of the Chinese and Korean consulates.

Jim Park, AREAA's national president and CEO, said the group has three main goals. One is helping more Asians become homeowners.

The second purpose is providing education for AREAA's members from the housing and real estate profession.

Thirdly, AREAA serves as a national lobbying voice for the diverse Asian Pacific community in Washington D.C. AREAA has more than 14,000 members in 38 states.

Park said Asians represent about 5% of the U.S. population, controlling some $700 billion in purchasing power. Asians are projected to be the fastest-growing demographic group over the next two decade, Park said, yet home ownership within the group has remained at roughly the same level over the past 20 years.

Yangsook Ku, president of Greater Atlanta AREEA's executive board, said Georgia's Asian Pacific community totals more than 275,000 persons. She added, "AREAA is dedicated to promoting home ownership in Asian American communities by creating a powerful national voice for housing and real estate professionals." For details about the new chapter, visit www.areaa.org/gaatl.

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