The real estate agents who build lasting practices in this market are the ones who consistently show up to all their clients, writes America Foy.
I Google myself sometimes.
I recently found myself reading a column I wrote for the San Francisco Bay Times in 2014. The Bay Times, a legendary LGBTQ+ publication with roots dating back to 1982, is one of the longest-running independent LGBTQ+ newspapers in the United States and featured me as its real estate columnist for several years.
I really enjoyed reading your old works.
What gave me pause was how similar the problems were. In 2014, I wrote about how LGBTQ+ buyers are the vanguard of gentrification, lamenting how San Francisco’s prices were driving all “interesting people” out of the city. The next central issue is equity, inclusion, and affordability.
Fast forward to 2026, and surprisingly… core issues of equity, inclusion, affordability, policy, and consumer protection are now emerging.
The problem remained the same. They have been expanded and renamed.
Our Starting Point: The Conversation of 2014
When I first started writing for the Bay Times and other LGBTQ+ publications in the mid-2010s, the real estate industry was having a very different conversation about our community. “Representation” often meant little more than finding an agent who would not be daunted by the promise of a listing, or finding an area where a couple could work together without becoming a target.
The columns I wrote at that time were necessary for education. I was writing about the basic mechanics of home ownership for groups that have historically been excluded from the financial system. Until marriage equality became a reality, LGBTQ+ couples had to navigate a patchwork of state laws that made joint property rights legally unstable.
Tipping point: marriage equality
Although the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was a legal landmark, it took years for its real estate implications to be fully realized. What marriage equality has quietly and systematically done is begin the process of unlocking the financial system for LGBTQ+ couples in ways that were previously inaccessible or legally unstable.
As an agent and columnist, I’ve watched this shift happen in real time. Reader questions quickly changed. Where we once answered questions about neighborhood safety and relationship disclosure, we now receive questions about 1031 exchanges, how to hold title to real estate, and shared ownership structures to maximize the benefits of estate planning.
data is catching up
Ultimately, the numbers confirmed what I was observing on the ground. Because our community had more rights, we became homeowners more regularly. LGBTQ+ is becoming normalized and more people are choosing to be authentic.
According to the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, the LGBTQ+ homeownership rate is approximately 49%, which is significantly lower than the national average, meaning there is significant upside potential. Single women (the majority of whom identify as LGBTQ+) currently own more homes than single men, accounting for approximately 58 percent of the single ownership market by 2026.
My community was never on the sidelines. That was an early indicator.
Specialization of expression
The most profound change I have witnessed is not demographic. It’s professional.
Gone are the days when a rainbow flag on your business card was enough to signal excellence. Today’s LGBTQ+ clients don’t want allies who are just “nice.” They want strategists.
They are grappling with estate planning in states where their rights are still legally contested. And this is in addition to the new world of buyer-broker agreements following the August 2024 National Association of Realtors settlement. LGBTQ+ customers are asking questions about Opportunity Zones, self-directed IRAs, and whether HECM for Purchase makes sense for their planned retirement transitions.
Modern Battle: MLS Data and Whose Market Is This Really?
This is where the conversations of 2014 and 2026 converge in a way I never expected.
When I was writing about LGBTQ+ buyers and neighborhoods in the mid-2010s, the underlying concern was always about access. Who can see the list? Who can see the good inventory? When something hits the market before it’s published, who gets contacted?
The current battle over MLS data transparency in federal court is a modern-day version of the same access issue. It all ultimately comes down to who controls access to the market.
When the best inventory is distributed through private networks before reaching the MLS, the first buyers shut out are disproportionately from traditionally excluded communities.
The fight for MLS transparency is a fight for equal access to housing.
What hasn’t changed (and what must continue to change)
Despite all the progress, here’s what remains true. Fair Housing Act protections still do not explicitly cover sexual orientation and gender identity at the federal level.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Although protections for sexual orientation and gender identity exist at the state and local level in many jurisdictions, including California, they are not guaranteed by federal law.
Another thing that hasn’t changed is the continued performance collaboration. Pride month brings a new wave of rainbow logo marketing from brokerages and platforms. Brokers and platforms spend the remaining 11 months of the year completely ignoring demographics.
The community notices. We were always aware. The agents who build lasting practices in this market are those who consistently show up.
The road ahead
When I look back at the arc of my writing, I see a journey from the margins to the center. we have always been here. We were always buying and selling to build wealth. The industry is finally starting to take notice.
The next decade of LGBTQ+ real estate representation will be defined by questions of power, not access. Who will control the data? Who will sit at the policy table? Who will build the institutional knowledge that shapes how the wealth of our communities is created, protected, and transferred across generations?
