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In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invited several Douglas Elliman agents to share their experiences as members of the AAPI community and talk about the role their heritage has played in their real estate career.
Julia Jiang Hawkins, Co-Founder, The Julia Jiang and Charles Hawkins Team
How do you prefer to identify yourself within the Asian American Pacific Islander umbrella?
I identify as Asian American.
What aspects of your identity are most meaningful for you? Are there cultural traditions or historic moments or other elements that are a particular source of pride?
I think my identity is framed by my cross-cultural experiences in both the eastern and western hemispheres. I grew up in China, was educated in Switzerland, and now pursue my career in real estate in Manhattan. Each of these experiences has added tremendous value and meaning and informed who I am as a person.
My Chinese values are about working hard, studying, learning and advancing without excuses. Being able to speak Chinese fluently—and artfully—has been a most valuable thing. Ultimately, the tradition I value most is being polite and respectful to everyone, regardless of their ethnicity.
I’m proud of and grateful to my parents, who have big hearts and taught me to always take care of people in our life in any way we can. These values are part of me, and so they’re easy to translate into my daily practice.
How did you find your path to success in this field?
First of all, I was born to be a salesperson. After graduating from Switzerland Hotel Management, I was among the top 20 salespeople at Five Star Shangri-La Hotels in Asia.
I began my career in New York real estate by following my role model, a friend from high school who had become—and continues to be—a successful agent in L.A. Later, I teamed up my husband, Charles Hawkins. Through our years of being in business together, I have learned and absorbed Western culture and critical thinking from him, which I have combined with my own Eastern traditions. We occupy a niche at the intersection of East and West in New York City real estate!
What values or elements of your heritage do you draw strength from in your work as an agent?
My core values are to take responsibility for my customers, clients, friends, and family in my daily actions.
One of the most valuable things about being a Chinese American is the ability to speak the language and use that to help many Chinese people to settle and find a sense of “home” in other countries. I use language to help guests feel comfortable and warm and to build a strong connection of trust with them.
For me, sales is all part of the art and craft of real estate! The art of language, negotiation, people skills—each process of making a deal is undeniably a craft and potentially a work of art. And my passion is real estate sales!
How would you characterize your experience as a member of the AAPI community in the real estate industry? Are there specific moments or episodes from over the years that illustrate what you’ve experienced?
I feel as if I have been treated fairly in the industry. The buyers and sellers choose their representatives, so if there is discrimination, it is generated at this point. But because the industry is results driven, I believe it is a fairly level playing field. I have established myself as a broker who produces results and has earned the respect of developers, sponsors, brokers and customers.
What would you like your industry colleagues to understand about your experience and what can they do to be better allies of the AAPI community?
I do feel as if Asian Americans who work in real estate would benefit from adapting more to the Western culture. Currently, the Asian-American real estate community tends to compete for the same Asian buyers, this needs to change over time.
How do you think brokerages like Elliman can help foster greater diversity in the industry?
I feel DE is already doing a great job of fostering diversity in the industry. As I mentioned, real estate is a very level playing field. If you work hard, cultivate your relationships and add value to people’s transactions, you can succeed.
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