Advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander Homeownership with AREAA

By Francis Lopez

Francis Lopez (left) receiveing an award from Viral Vora (right), the 2024 AREAA Silicon Valley Chapter President, as the AREAA Silicon Valley Chapter Member of the Year for 2024

Every May, we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Serving clients in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula, we understand the importance of this community, as AANHPI’s individuals make up over 42% and 34% of the populations of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, respectively.*

In honor of AANHPI Heritage month, we are highlighting an organization DeLeon Realty has supported over the years: the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA).

AREAA is a national trade organization dedicated to improving the lives of the AANHPI community through homeownership. AREAA creates a powerful national voice for housing and real estate professionals to work together to promote this goal. Since its founding in 2003, AREAA has quickly grown to over 19,000 members across 45 chapters in the US and Canada, making it the largest AANHPI trade organization in North America.   

AREAA has two chapters serving our area: The Silicon Valley and San Francisco Peninsula chapters. Both chapters host events open to AREAA Members, real estate professionals, and the public. These events include educational speakers for real estate professionals and expos where the public has the opportunity to connect with industry experts to gain valuable insights on homeownership and wealth-building through real estate.   

This May, representatives from AREAA chapters, including our local chapters, will travel to Washington DC, where they will have the opportunity to meet with our Congress members and advocate for policies that promote AANHPI homeownership. In previous years, AREAA led the successful “No Other” Campaign, which resulted in the U.S. Census Bureau placing Asian Americans as an “Other” category in the Census’s quarterly housing report. Since this change in 2016, AREAA has continued to build on this success, pushing for more policies that can aid the goal of sustainable AANHPI homeownership.

A few years ago, I joined the AREAA Silicon Valley chapter after hearing many great things from DeLeon Realty’s own Audrey Sun during her time on the Board of Directors. Since then, I have served on the Board as a Director and Secretary, and I am honored to have been named AREAA Silicon Valley’s Member of the Year for the past two years.  Beyond making a meaningful impact on the Asian American community, my work with AREAA has allowed me to connect with many amazing agents, creating valuable connections for DeLeon Realty’s listings.

I’m excited to continue supporting the AANHPI community through AREAA and look forward to attending this year’s Washington D.C. trip with three of my colleagues from DeLeon—my first trip in DeLeon Realty’s newest plane.

*Data based on July 2024 estimates from the US Census Bureau.

Francis Lopez (DRE #02119541) | francis@deleonrealty.com | 650.407.0160

DeLeon Realty, Inc. | DRE #01903224 | Equal Housing Opportunity