Leonard-Hawes Survey Shows Growing Diversity Among Texas Real Estate Professionals

Findings Reveal Growth in Ethnic Diversity, Age Differential and Nontraditional Backgrounds Entering the Real Estate Profession

Houston, TX, February 24, 2003 - Today's real estate professionals are more ethnically diverse, span a wider age range, and come from higher-income backgrounds than ever before, according to results from a survey conducted by Leonard-Hawes Real Estate Schools.

Responses from over 1,000 students surveyed from Kaplan Professional's Leonard-Hawes Real Estate Schools in Texas revealed that the percentage of agents who are part of an ethnic minority has increased. While 82 percent of current agents consider themselves Caucasian, this designation applies to only 57 percent of new agents entering the field. In fact, the percentage of new agents representing each of the three key minority groups - Hispanic, African American and Asian Americans - is more than double that of current agents.

Among other key findings:

Influx of High-Income Professionals - More than 25 percent of respondents have an annual household income of $80,000 or more, compared with just five percent in previous years. This is partly a result of the increase in second-wage earners entering the field.
Extreme Age Range - Fifteen percent of new agents are between the ages of 18 to 24, nearly triple that of five years ago. This means that agents are often entering the profession earlier than they are becoming homeowners themselves. On the other end of the scale, there is a concurrent increase in older agents, with 17 percent of new agents age 55 or over.
Nontraditional Background - Sixteen percent of new agents are coming from the technology field - an industry not previously represented among new real estate professionals.

"This survey shows that the real estate profession is growing beyond its homogeneous past and becoming a more inclusive industry," said Rick Larson, Dean of Student Services for Kaplan Professional Schools. "These results reflect what we're seeing in our schools nationwide, including Leonard-Hawes, where the student body is more diverse than ever."

Larson added that many of these factors, particularly the changes in income and backgrounds, can be largely attributed to the economic downturn, which has left highly paid professionals out of work.

For over 30 combined years, Leonard-Hawes has provided high quality education for real estate salespeople, brokers, appraisers and inspectors, and is part of Kaplan Professional, a leader in providing professional education and training to companies.

About Kaplan Professional:
Kaplan Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com) provides licensing and continuing education training, certification, professional development courses, and compliance tracking for financial services, legal, IT, and real estate professionals and corporations through an array of educational tools, from on-site training and classroom instruction to nearly 200 online courses and programs. Kaplan Professional Schools provide live classroom instruction, internet-based learning, and correspondence courses in select markets. Its real estate licensing and continuing education programs are delivered through the Anthony Schools in California, The Leonard-Hawes Real Estate Schools in Texas, Jones College in Colorado, ProSource Educational in Minnesota, and The Dearborn Real Estate Institute in New Mexico. In 2002, these schools served more than 150,000 students.

Kaplan Professional is a unit of Kaplan, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

Press Contacts:

Karen Blass
212-974-6233
karen_blass@kaplan.com

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