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HISPANICS BUY INTO CAPE BY OSBALDO
PADILLA The announcer on the television screen has a George Hamilton tan and a Ricardo Montalban-esque air about him. He speaks an announcer's pronounced Spanish, excitedly pointing and smiling as images of happy families enjoying the splendor of Cape Coral dissolve in and out on the left side of the screen. "Are you worried about the surroundings in which your children are growing up?" the announcer asks. "If you want to see them enjoy a better lifestyle, then this message is for you." The message has been heard for more than 20 years by thousands of Hispanics flocking to Southwest Florida. Two companies that pioneered advertising and reaching out to the Latin American market in the 1970s say the current Hispanic population boom can be attributed to their early efforts. The TV commercial is for Royal West Properties. It is broadcast in Miami, New York, Ecuador and Columbia. While most Southwest Florida real estate companies rely on print media to drive their business, no one does it quite like Royal West Properties and American Prime. These two real estate companies use TV commercials and infomercials to attract homeowners from throughout the Latin American world. The two Miami-area businessmen who own the companies say their aggressive ad campaigns helped put Southwest Florida on the map and continue to feed a housing boom that is benefiting land brokers of all nationalities. "I do a lot of business with Hispanics," said Michael Schneider-Christians, a real estate agent with Century 21 Sunbelt. "It helped pick up the slack of German business that dropped off." "They're (Hispanics) so family oriented, they come shopping for homes in groups of 20," said Ken Young, a Cape Coral salesman for Adams Homes. "I'm trying to get our lenders to get someone who speaks Spanish. I've showed them: Seven out of nine of our current contracts are Spanish-speaking people." According to the U.S. Census, 116,627 people moved into Lee County between 1995 and 2000. About 15,890 of them were Hispanic, and more than 4,000 came here from other parts of the state. In Cape Coral, the Hispanic population grew 4.6 percent between 1990 to 2000, while the Anglo population dropped 3.1 percent. About 25 percent of the Hispanics who moved into the city were from Florida. The Hispanic population shift has been even more dramatic in Lehigh Acres, where the Hispanic population grew 13 percent between 1990 and 2000. "Miami is way too crowded," said Ileana Hernandez, who moved to Cape Coral two years ago. Nineteen years ago, she saw a commercial for property in Lehigh Acres being sold by American Prime. She bought a lot there that she still owns. Almost two decades later, Hernandez is looking to buy a home in Cape Coral, and so are her sister-in-law and mother-in-law. "People have come to know about Cape Coral with those commercials. People talk to me and say, `Hey I've seen the commercials, it looks nice.' So people get interested in looking," Hernandez said. A steady stream of visitors interested in buying property pours into Cape Coral's chamber of commerce every weekend. Most Anglos who are interested in moving to Southwest Florida see print ads in real estate magazines or discover the area through tourism and the Internet, according to Mike Quaintance, president of the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce. Hispanics are discovering it through word of mouth and their TV screens. "Eighty percent of the Hispanics who come here come because of our commercials," said Gaston Cantens, owner of Royal West Properties, which has been selling lots in Cape Coral since the early 1980s. Cantens says he receives 50 to 100 calls a week from people who are curious about the area. The real estate broker believes the majority of people who become curious from his ads end up coming to town and choosing their own salesperson. The co-owner of Tucan Mini-market, a Latino grocery on Hancock Bridge Parkway, agrees. "A lot of people come here and tell me they've seen the commercials. The promotion brings them here," said Carlos Pinieros, a Colombian who says he has seen the TV spots in New York and in his native land. Cantens bought his first lot in Cape Coral in 1977. Now, he owns more than 1,000 and continues to buy more as he sells others. "People come here because the cost of living is lower, the crime rate is lower than in West Palm Beach, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa. There are jobs here and there are good educational opportunities," Cantens said. While Royal West has worked to attract an international clientele, American Prime has always focused on the South Florida market. The company began selling "The Farms of Golden Gate" to Miami residents in the early 1970s. Eventually, the company expanded into Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral. "We visualized this was a place where the growth and the way tax money was being used (on) schools (the) international airport was in a good central location. That's what got us to come over," said Jorge Lopez, owner of American Prime. The company runs about 60 commercials and infomercials a week on Miami radio and TV stations. Lehigh and Cape Coral are now household names on Florida's east coast, Lopez said. "It's something that just starts happening. People start talking. It didn't happen overnight," he said. Selling Southwest Florida news-press.com See one of the commercials designed to attract Hispanics to this region. PHOTO CAPTION: MARKETING TRIGGERS MIGRATION: Walter Asbury of Interior Drywall Specialties puts the finishing touches on the window sills of a house being built by Adams Homes at 3730 S.W. First St. in Cape Coral. An official at Adams says that the company sells approximately 25 percent of its homes to Hispanics. ANDREW WEST/The News-Press PHOTO CAPTION: Max Soler of Liberty Drywall puts finishing touches on the drywall of a home at 3517 N.W. 45th Ave. in Cape Coral being built for Royal West customers from Miami who are Hispanic. ANDREW WEST/The News-Press PHOTO CAPTION: A commercial by Royal West Properties that sells Cape Coral homes and lots to the Hispanic population is shown on Hispanic channels. Special to The News-Press GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE |