Louisville isn't one kind of buyer or one kind of seller. It's a young family closing on their first place in the South End, a Deaf couple touring homes with an interpreter, a retired veteran using a VA loan in the East End, a widow selling the house she raised her kids in, a Spanish-speaking buyer working with an agent who can actually talk it through with them. Winner Realty works with all of them, and we hold ourselves to the same standard with every one: skilled representation, honest advice, and a fair shot at the deal they came for.

That's not a slogan. It's the law, and it's also just good business — a brokerage that only knows how to work with one kind of client is a brokerage leaving most of Louisville on the table. Here's what the numbers actually show, what the law requires, and what we do about it day to day.

Where Things Actually Stand

Homeownership is still the biggest engine of wealth-building in this country, and it isn't shared equally. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2025 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America, the 2023 homeownership rate was 72.4% for white households, 63.4% for Asian households, 51.0% for Hispanic households, and 44.7% for Black households — a 28-percentage-point gap between Black and white homeownership that has barely moved in decades.

The last ten years have shown real progress, unevenly distributed. Between 2013 and 2023, Hispanic homeownership rose 5.8 percentage points (about 3.5 million more homeowners), Asian homeownership rose 5.6 points (1.6 million more), white homeownership rose 3.6 points (702,000 more), and Black homeownership rose 2.8 points (nearly 1.2 million more). Progress across the board, but not equal progress — the gap that mattered ten years ago still matters today.

Fair housing enforcement tells a similar story. The National Fair Housing Alliance's 2025 Fair Housing Trends Report counted 32,321 housing discrimination complaints filed with private fair housing organizations and government agencies in 2024. Disability was the basis for more than half of them (54.6%), followed by race (15.6%). Complaints based on national origin rose 8.5% year over year to their highest level since 2018. This isn't ancient history — it's what's still happening in housing markets across the country right now.

What the Law Actually Guarantees

The Fair Housing Act — Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 — makes it illegal to discriminate in the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. As a licensed Kentucky REALTOR®, following it isn't optional for Rob or for any Winner Realty agent — it's a baseline requirement of doing this job, and we treat it as one.

Louisville adds to that baseline. The city's Fairness Ordinance, passed in 1999 — one of the first in Kentucky and in the South — extends housing, employment, and public accommodation protections to sexual orientation and gender identity, categories the federal Fair Housing Act doesn't explicitly name. Louisville marked the ordinance's 25th anniversary in 2024.

How We Put That Into Practice

None of this changes how we do the job for any two clients. What it does mean:

• We show every listing to every qualified buyer. Steering a buyer toward or away from a neighborhood based on who they are isn't just against the law — it's not how good representation works. Where you look is about your budget, your must-haves, and your timeline, not your background.
• We serve clients in Spanish, not just English. Rob has been the designated Spanish-speaking agent at every brokerage he's worked at since he started in the business in 2013, and that carries into Winner Realty today.
• We've built out real accessibility practices, not just a policy statement — sensory-friendly and extended-time showings, a directory of free interpretation and low-vision resources, and a standing commitment to Deaf, hard of hearing, blind, low vision, and neurodivergent clients. See what that looks like in practice and browse the resources we point clients to.
• We put money behind it. Winner Realty donates 1% of its net profits to Hand in Hand, a relationship that goes back to a trip Rob's mentor Harry Borders first took him on.
• It's been recognized, not just claimed. Winner Realty holds the Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS®' Brokerage Spirit Honors award, which is judged specifically on whether giving back — including to underrepresented communities — is a lasting, brokerage-wide culture rather than a one-time gesture.

Our Commitment, Plainly Stated

We don't think the bar for this industry is especially high, and we'd rather earn a reputation for clearing it than announce that we already have. Every buyer, seller, renter, and investor who calls Winner Realty gets the same thing: an agent who knows the market, tells them the truth, and works the deal like it's the only one that matters — regardless of what they look like, where they're from, who they love, what language they speak first, or what they're working with physically or financially. That's not a diversity initiative. It's just the job, done right, for everybody who walks through the door.

Frequently asked questions

Does Winner Realty work with buyers and sellers from any background?

Yes. We represent buyers, sellers, renters, and investors across Louisville and Southern Indiana regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. If you're ready to buy or sell, we're ready to work with you.

Is Fair Housing something your agents actually train on, or just a line in a disclosure?

As REALTORS®, our agents are required by the National Association of REALTORS® to complete at least two hours of fair housing and anti-bias training every three years — a formal requirement that took effect in 2025 — on top of Kentucky's own licensing law. We treat it as a floor, not a ceiling.

Do you offer real estate services in Spanish?

Yes. Rob Bergeron speaks conversational Spanish, lived in Ecuador, and has been the go-to Spanish-speaking agent at multiple Louisville brokerages throughout his 13 years in the business.

What if I need an accommodation because of a disability?

Ask. We offer sensory-friendly and extended-time showings, work with Deaf and hard of hearing clients through free relay and interpretation resources, and support blind and low vision clients through tools like Be My Eyes. Details are on our accessibility page and resource directory.

Would Winner Realty ever steer me toward or away from a neighborhood based on who I am?

No — that's illegal under the Fair Housing Act, and it's not how we operate. Our neighborhood recommendations are based on your budget, commute, and the features you tell us matter to you. Nothing else.

How does Winner Realty give back to underserved parts of the community?

We donate 1% of our net profits to Hand in Hand, and we hold GLAR's Brokerage Spirit Honors award, which specifically evaluates whether a brokerage's giving reaches underrepresented communities and holds up year over year rather than being a one-time push.