Century 21 Ceo: Adding Latino Agents Is Key To Serving ‘70% Of Net New Homebuyers’

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 70% of net new homebuyers between now and 2050 will be Latino — a statistic that Century 21 CEO Mike Miedler said should guide recruiting efforts across the industry.

“If we’re going to serve those communities, we also have to get more Hispanic real estate professionals into the business,” Miedler said in an exclusive interview with HousingWire this week at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) Homeownership and Housing Policy Conference.

He noted that less than 10% of real estate professionals today are Hispanic.

Years ago, Century 21 launched a program, called Empowering Latinas, to provide scholarships for entering the field, which Miedler said remains a core focus.

“We do a lot to help push recruiting around what the face of local communities looks like — and that includes Latinos a lot of the time,” he said.

Market conditions uneven

While national data laid out during NAHREP’s conference suggests the housing market is shifting from a seller’s market to a more balanced one, Miedler said the reality depends heavily on location.

“If you look in the Northeast and even parts of the Midwest, where we have some of our best representation, it’s still very much a seller’s market,” he said.

He cited Essex County, New Jersey, where one Century 21 broker serving the Latino community struggles to find inventory.

“In a city like Lyndhurst, New Jersey, you’re talking about a dozen homes that are for sale,” he said. “Yet in markets like Texas, Phoenix and Las Vegas, inventory is more plentiful,” Miedler said. “The balance might be from a national perspective, but I think it all comes down to that local zip code and community.”

Federal policy and the supply challenge

Miedler said the most impactful federal policy changes would address the nation’s housing supply shortage — a theme echoed throughout the NAHREP conference.

He pointed to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as a positive step.

“Some of the stuff that they’re trying to figure out is going to help supply — and to me, that’s where the real devil in all of this is,” he said. “Everything we’ve tried to do from a government perspective is generally on the demand side. And we have the demand — the demand is there. Honestly, this is the first bill that has been put forward in years that is trying to tackle some of the supply side stuff, whether it’s trying to stop big investment firms from owning a lot of build to build-to-rents or trying to incentivize local marketplaces to get through the permitting process.

“Even with just getting more of these modular-use homes out there and being able to get them up quicker, I think that over the long-term, it’s great to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to incentivize supply.'”

Miedler also expressed support for the idea of creating capital gains tax incentives for baby boomers and smaller “mom and pop” landlords to sell homes to first-time buyers for owner occupancy.

With 79% of boomers owning homes and an estimated $17 trillion in home equity locked up, he said such a policy could unlock significant supply.

“That could stoke potential inventory for people to get excited about,” Miedler said. “I would bet a lot of them who own multiple homes are saying, ‘Why am I going to trade down from my four-bedroom if you’re going to hit me with this huge capital gains tax?’ The dollars and cents don’t make sense.”

Navigating client fear and uncertainty

NAHREP’s State of Hispanic Homeownership report identified heightened immigration enforcement as a destabilizing force in the housing market, suppressing demand and disrupting transactions.

Miedler said he had not heard many frontline stories about clients canceling deals out of fear of deportation — but he acknowledged the broader migration issue demands attention.

“We’ve got to figure out the right middle ground for legal immigration into this country, not just to continue to support what we have here today, but also to build and continue the workforce and continue our economy,” he said. “You need migration in some form or fashion.”

For agents navigating clients’ fears, Miedler advised professionalism and empathy — while explaining how that human aspect can’t be replaced by technology.

“[We’re making sure] that they’re doing things in the most professional manner that they would serve any client in,” he said. “This is another reason why real estate professionals never get replaced — because they are navigating all these emotional components. AI is not doing that.

“Anybody can ask ChatGPT something. But to get frontline knowledge and experience — you got to be [out in the field building relationships]. To get the anecdotal stories, to really recognize what’s happening in the market — you need to be out there.”

Rising costs and early education

With insurance premiums and property taxes emerging as significant affordability barriers, Miedler said Century 21 equips agents to counsel buyers on hidden costs.

“That starts early in the process,” he said. “You’ve got to help them understand what affordability looks like — how much of their salaries or take-home [pay] factors in — where they’re going to be able to afford getting into a house.”

He pointed to Oralia Herrera, NAHREP’s outgoing president, who built her business around financial counseling that extends beyond the real estate transaction into retirement planning and savings.

“There are stories out there how less-served communities have gotten taken advantage of — whether it be on the mortgage side or even on the appraisal side — and that’s where ethics and making sure that we’re always doing the right thing from a real estate perspective is truly important,” Miedler said.

A 25-year partnership

Century 21 has maintained a relationship with NAHREP for 25 years and counts six former NAHREP presidents among its network.

Miedler said that history positions the brand well for any client demographic shifts ahead.

“If you look at the statistics, us being the number one preferred real estate company by Latinos to do business — we’re just going to continue to support that community,” he said. “If we can continue adding Latino agents into the real estate infrastructure, into our brand — we’ll be able to serve the demand that we think is going to build over the coming decades.”