Budapest-born Hatridge said she knows of one other native Hungarian in Corpus Christi. Drue Combs at Ken Combs Realty, who speaks some Japanese, said she hasn't had many people who speak Japanese wanting to close on a house, but she was on the Association of Realtors committee to identify Realtors on the Web site by the language they speak. Those who speak several languages say the language that is most requested, of course, is Spanish. Margarit Haggard, a native of Spain, said that as much as 70 percent of the clientele she encounters at Alfred Edge Realtors prefer Spanish. She almost never uses the French, Italian and Portuguese that she also knows.
Some people just feel more comfortable talking in the language they grew up speaking.
If you can explain in another language, it makes it easier on them. Tim Voorkamp at Real Estate 2000, who is fluent in Dutch, also has found his Spanish fluency to be an asset. The language is used more to chat and put everyone at ease than to conduct transactions. Realtors are finding more ways to serve their Spanish-speaking clients. Now it is one of the center's most requested publications.