TAMPA, Fla. – Netflix’s reality TV show “Selling Tampa” not only puts Florida’s hot real estate market in the national spotlight, but because it’s led by an all-minority, all-women real estate team, it’s also putting Black representation and Black wealth centerstage too, in ways some say have never been seen before.
News 6 spoke to the leading ladies of the show at Allure Realty, including owner and broker Sharelle Rosado and realtor Juwana Colbert, who represent a part of the less than 6% of real estate professionals who are Black, according the U.S. Census Bureau.
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“Real estate is the good ol’ boy system and when I first became an agent, I was like, ‘How do I get into the luxury market?’ Nobody gave me an answer, or if they knew it, they wanted to keep it to themselves,” Rosado said. “So, when I opened my brokerage, I was like, ‘We’re all going to know that it can be done.’ And that’s what we did.”
They broke into the luxury market while breaking stereotypes.
“It’s wonderful to be able to see the number of people who are able to buy high end homes that look like us. And so we’re happy to be able to help those people as well,” Colbert said.
According to a Zillow report, in 2022, Tampa was listed as the No. 1 hottest housing market in the nation, while Orlando didn’t trail too far behind in the No. 9 spot.
“Tampa is expected to rise from fourth-fastest home value growth in 2021 to fastest in 2022,” the report reads.
Zillow also released a study that showed Black applicants are denied a mortgage at a rate that’s 84% higher than white applicants, which has increased by 10% since 2019. It’s a stigma these women are trying to destroy.
“A lot of people give up when they get turned down. So, then their hopes are up and just like I really want to buy a house, but I can’t I got turned down so I’m just going to go back to renting,” Rosado said.
At Allure Realty, they have programs to set up applicants with loan agents to improve credit, get into a home and build that generational wealth.
“You are building that generational wealth, and I love to see it,” Rosado said. “People were scared to start, us as Black people are scared to own, scared of the responsibility and it wasn’t taught,” Rosado said. “Now you have a lot of representation of businesses owners, we have systems in place that teach young minority owners, young Black owners, how to budget your money, purchase that home, get residual income.”
As fans took pictures outside the door of their brokerage, Rosado or Colbert said the impact of the representation they’re bringing and the stereotypes they’re breaking hasn’t really settled in just yet.
“It’s more when the fans come, or when women that we inspire either come in or DM us, or come to the office, and just in tears telling us how we motivate them,” Rosado said.
Colbert agreed.
“I think that’s what keeps a lot of us going every day because we want to see that (representation) in our community,” Colbert said. “We want to see wealth building, we want to see more homeownership in minorities, and I think that’s what kind of helps us get up every day.”
Allure Realty is headquartered in Tampa but just opened up a branch in Miami with three agents working in Orlando, Rosado said. Long term, she’d love to have a branch in Central Florida as well.
“I do have a few agents that are in the Orlando market. And so, as they list the home, it’s crazy. It’s the same all over Florida. It’s the market is crazy,” Rosado said. “We have three agents, so they come back and forth but as soon as I start to branch out, (we’ll) definitely open up a branch in Orlando.”