Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Homes

Chinese American realty group names new officers

Realtors gather at installation

By Rose Meily

Members of the real estate industry congratulated the Chinese American Real Estate Association as the group's 2006-07 officers and board of directors were formally installed on July 27 at the Mayflower Restaurant in Milpitas.

The new officers include Eunice Chan (Toll Brothers), president; Karl Lee (Realty World Result Pros), vice president; Daniel Dietrick (North American Title), secretary; and Melanie Hung (Wells Fargo Bank) treasurer.

The association's board members are Olivia Jang (California Best Investment Realty Inc.), Fiona Tsang (Chicago Title Company), Liz Tadman (Coldwell Banker-Cupertino); Katy Lee (Century 21-El Camino Real, Sunnyvale), public relations director; Frank Shao (State Farm Insurance), community outreach director; Lee Ng (First American Title), sponsorship/partnerships director; Jennifer Liu (Coldwell Banker-Fremont), residential coordinator; and Eve Hsiang (North Western Mutual), commercial coordinator.

Representatives from Realtor associations and affiliates in the Bay Area attended the event and congratulated the new officers and board of directors. Members of the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors were among those present at the installation dinner. They included John Tripp, president; Adam Atito, Palo Alto District chairman; Ron Gates, Region 9 chairman; and Leannah Hunt, director. Both Tripp and Gates are members of the industry group's Los Gatos District.

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors is an official partner and strong supporter of the Chinese-American real estate group. Tripp spoke at the event and congratulated Chan, the other officers and the board members of the group. He emphasized the importance of promoting cultural diversity in the region and stressed that the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors staunchly supports the Chinese Association of Real Estate Agents and its goals.

Tripp said, "The goal of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors is to promote homeownership for everyone, regardless of race. We are happy to partner with the Chinese American Real Estate Association to achieve this goal."

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors hopes to continue strengthening its ties with the Chinese-American and the other ethnic Realtor associations in the Bay Area, Tripp said, as he underlined the goals and activities of the Silicon Valley Realtor group.

"We have a very large, culturally diverse group and conduct all kinds of programs for the first-time homebuyer," said Tripp. "We are very active in the community, and we support the Chinese-Americans. We are very concerned with the various ethnic groups because they are part of our economy; they are part of our society."

As she formally assumed her role as president of the Chinese real estate association, Chan thanked the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and other sponsors. Chan noted the celebration coincided with the 18th birthday of the Chinese-American association.

Chan said her goal for the year is to "reach out and beyond." She said she would like to increase resources for educational opportunities so Chinese-American Realtors can improve their real estate skills.

Chan added she also hopes to expand ties with other ethnic Realtor associations, such as the Asian Real Estate Association of America, the Hispanic Association of Realtors and Affiliates, the Filipino-American Real Estate Professionals Association, the Vietnamese-American Real Estate Professionals Association, the African-American Economic Development Association of Realtors and Affiliates, the Council of Indian-American Realtors, as well as the Women's Council of Realtors.

The Chinese American Real Estate Association was formed in 1988 in the Bay Area to promote the social and economic well-being of Chinese-Americans actively engaged in the field of real estate sales and brokerage, property management, mortgage banking and real estate development. Regular activities of the association include both dinner meetings and lunch seminars, which serve as forums for featured speakers to discuss contemporary and critical real estate issues and for networking with other Chinese-American real estate professionals. Programs are instituted to increase business among members such as exchanging of listings, information, ideas and intra-organizational real estate activities. These activities also help members understand the various aspects of practicing real estate, including sales training and technology updates.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Chinese constitute the largest group among California's Asian population, numbering 980,642, or 2.9 percent of the state's total population. Although deeply rooted in the state's larger cities, Chinese-Americans have moved to suburban areas through the years. The Chinese-American community makes up about 6.9 percent of Santa Clara County's 1.6 million population.