LOS ANGELES—Demand is surging for bilingual brokers in Santa Barbara, according to real estate brokers Louise McKaig and Karina Rodriguez, brokers at Keller Williams Realty Santa Barbara. The firm has launched a new Spanish-speaking real estate platform to accommodate the new demand, which will focus on homebuyers and sellers. To find out more about the growing demand for Spanish-speaking brokers and the new service, we sat down with McKaig and Rodriguez for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the rising demand in Santa Barbara for bilingual real estate agents?

Louise McKaig:
Santa Barbara maintains a steady appeal to foreign buyers and investors from all over the world. As for the rise in demand for bilingual real estate agents, our team has experienced an increase in clients who are bilingual or Spanish-speaking local residents deciding to get into the market to buy or sell luxury residential homes or real estate investments. We also see first time buyers hoping to purchase a home with the help of their Spanish-speaking parents.

Karina Rodriguez:
We have a large Spanish speaking population in Santa Barbara County. All of our team members are born and raised in Santa Barbara, including myself, but I still grew up speaking Spanish in the house. In my experience, I think selling a home can feel intimidating if English isn't your first language and there are not a lot of experienced bilingual real estate agents around to help people.

GlobeSt.com: Is this because of an increase in foreign investment or because of a increase in bilingual residents?

Rodriguez:
I think more than an increase in foreign investment is that there has always been a need for more bilingual real estate agents in the luxury Santa Barbara real estate market and we are filling that need. Louise and our team at KW Luxury Homes offer a full luxury real estate service to our clients. We explain the process, help them get pre-qualified, understand the offer, loan, escrow, contracts, inspections, negotiations, and everything else they may need from their agent when buying or selling their home. So if our client feels more comfortable to work in Spanish, English, or both, then we work to help them with that.

McKaig: Santa Barbara usually has a large international interest throughout the year. I don't believe there is an increase in bilingual residents as much as an increase in our local Spanish speaking residents now entering the real estate market as either investors, buyers, or sellers and seeking a concierge style real estate service like we offer. Our goal is to provide our clients with the best real estate services and resources available so if providing those services in Spanish helps improve our clients' experience then we are happy to accommodate those needs.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the bilingual service.

McKaig: Karina is a wonderful bilingual real estate agent and will be helping lead the way for Spanish-speaking Realtors in Santa Barbara. She is an experienced and talented Realtor with a background in home loans and real estate investing. Together we will be providing our concierge style luxury real estate services that we have become well known for and now, combining it with her Spanish language and cultural knowledge, we can further support our clients' goals.

Rodriguez: Growing up as a native Spanish speaker with family and parents who feel more comfortable speaking Spanish, I thought this was a wonderful and much needed service to provide in Santa Barbara. I know many people who have been ready to purchase financially but emotionally they were intimidated and scared of contracts they couldn't understand. So we set out to make that process easier by providing our same award winning real estate services in both English and Spanish.

McKaig: As an example of why this type of service is important. Last year one of our clients, whose first language was Spanish, wanted to sell a beautiful, commercially zoned, income property in Santa Barbara California. But the City stepped in and decided it could no longer be an income property because of a technical permit that was not obtained from a previous owner decades ago. We connected him with a skilled land use planner and other professionals that have helped him navigate through the various stages for over a year. Situations like that can be intimidating for any seller but imagine how much more difficult it could be in a different language. A bilingual real estate agent can be very helpful and take away some of the uneasiness that can come with buying or selling properties with a price tag as high homes in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

GlobeSt.com: How has it helped to boost your business?

McKaig: There is no better marketing strategy to increase your real estate business than high-quality work and happy clients. Our bilingual real estate service allows us to provide one more luxury to our list of concierge real estate services because what I've learned over the years is that the better you do on behalf of your clients and the more you can do to help them, the more they refer you and grow your business.

Rodriguez: Louise is well known in the Santa Barbara and Montecito real estate markets. She has repeatedly been listed as the “Best Realtor” by the Santa Barbara Reader's Choice Awards and named “Santa Barbara's Best Real Estate Agent” by The Independent Magazine. She has a great reputation in the community for going above and beyond for her clients and this bilingual real estate service is building on that model. When someone can trust you, feels comfortable with you, and is happy with the work you've done they will use you again and refer you to friends and family.

LOS ANGELES—Demand is surging for bilingual brokers in Santa Barbara, according to real estate brokers Louise McKaig and Karina Rodriguez, brokers at Keller Williams Realty Santa Barbara. The firm has launched a new Spanish-speaking real estate platform to accommodate the new demand, which will focus on homebuyers and sellers. To find out more about the growing demand for Spanish-speaking brokers and the new service, we sat down with McKaig and Rodriguez for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the rising demand in Santa Barbara for bilingual real estate agents?

Louise McKaig: Santa Barbara maintains a steady appeal to foreign buyers and investors from all over the world. As for the rise in demand for bilingual real estate agents, our team has experienced an increase in clients who are bilingual or Spanish-speaking local residents deciding to get into the market to buy or sell luxury residential homes or real estate investments. We also see first time buyers hoping to purchase a home with the help of their Spanish-speaking parents.

Karina Rodriguez: We have a large Spanish speaking population in Santa Barbara County. All of our team members are born and raised in Santa Barbara, including myself, but I still grew up speaking Spanish in the house. In my experience, I think selling a home can feel intimidating if English isn't your first language and there are not a lot of experienced bilingual real estate agents around to help people.

GlobeSt.com: Is this because of an increase in foreign investment or because of a increase in bilingual residents?

Rodriguez: I think more than an increase in foreign investment is that there has always been a need for more bilingual real estate agents in the luxury Santa Barbara real estate market and we are filling that need. Louise and our team at KW Luxury Homes offer a full luxury real estate service to our clients. We explain the process, help them get pre-qualified, understand the offer, loan, escrow, contracts, inspections, negotiations, and everything else they may need from their agent when buying or selling their home. So if our client feels more comfortable to work in Spanish, English, or both, then we work to help them with that.

McKaig: Santa Barbara usually has a large international interest throughout the year. I don't believe there is an increase in bilingual residents as much as an increase in our local Spanish speaking residents now entering the real estate market as either investors, buyers, or sellers and seeking a concierge style real estate service like we offer. Our goal is to provide our clients with the best real estate services and resources available so if providing those services in Spanish helps improve our clients' experience then we are happy to accommodate those needs.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the bilingual service.

McKaig: Karina is a wonderful bilingual real estate agent and will be helping lead the way for Spanish-speaking Realtors in Santa Barbara. She is an experienced and talented Realtor with a background in home loans and real estate investing. Together we will be providing our concierge style luxury real estate services that we have become well known for and now, combining it with her Spanish language and cultural knowledge, we can further support our clients' goals.

Rodriguez: Growing up as a native Spanish speaker with family and parents who feel more comfortable speaking Spanish, I thought this was a wonderful and much needed service to provide in Santa Barbara. I know many people who have been ready to purchase financially but emotionally they were intimidated and scared of contracts they couldn't understand. So we set out to make that process easier by providing our same award winning real estate services in both English and Spanish.

McKaig: As an example of why this type of service is important. Last year one of our clients, whose first language was Spanish, wanted to sell a beautiful, commercially zoned, income property in Santa Barbara California. But the City stepped in and decided it could no longer be an income property because of a technical permit that was not obtained from a previous owner decades ago. We connected him with a skilled land use planner and other professionals that have helped him navigate through the various stages for over a year. Situations like that can be intimidating for any seller but imagine how much more difficult it could be in a different language. A bilingual real estate agent can be very helpful and take away some of the uneasiness that can come with buying or selling properties with a price tag as high homes in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

GlobeSt.com: How has it helped to boost your business?

McKaig: There is no better marketing strategy to increase your real estate business than high-quality work and happy clients. Our bilingual real estate service allows us to provide one more luxury to our list of concierge real estate services because what I've learned over the years is that the better you do on behalf of your clients and the more you can do to help them, the more they refer you and grow your business.

Rodriguez: Louise is well known in the Santa Barbara and Montecito real estate markets. She has repeatedly been listed as the “Best Realtor” by the Santa Barbara Reader's Choice Awards and named “Santa Barbara's Best Real Estate Agent” by The Independent Magazine. She has a great reputation in the community for going above and beyond for her clients and this bilingual real estate service is building on that model. When someone can trust you, feels comfortable with you, and is happy with the work you've done they will use you again and refer you to friends and family.