Nathaalie Carey, Nareit SVP for industry affairs and social responsibility, said the issues of racial disparity that exist in the real estate industry are so vast that it is necessary to focus on specific areas in order to enact meaningful change.
In the first installment of a two-part video interview, Carey also discussed the Black experience in real estate. She highlighted both the denial of access to real estate, including the practice of redlining by the federal government, as well as the forcible removal of property and assets from the Black culture.
Carey noted that within the real estate industry today, “there is certainly no hiding from this fact that the demographics and the numbers and the stats don’t add up to where they should be.” The issue now, she said, is “what are we going to do collectively to try to address this disparity that exists.”
Trying to address every issue all at once is impossible, Carey said, having a focused approach is essential in order to enact change.
“I think that we need to conceptualize and think through what kind of initiatives are going to make a significant difference,” Carey said.