After the California Supreme Court ruled in May allowing same-sex marriages, there’s been an upsurge in real estate marketing to the gay and lesbian community.  Rebates are being offered to offset the cost of a wedding, according to Inman News,

In offering the promotion, the company has teamed with a company that provides wedding-planning services. In order to qualify for the rebate, same-sex couples must purchase a single-family home or condo using the services of a Wellsford Realty agent, and the couple can receive up to 33 percent of their agent’s commission amount in the form of a cash rebate.

When Massachusetts passed its marriage law, agents didn’t see a huge jump in sales,

The marriage law in Massachusetts didn’t have any noticeable impact on mortgages and title insurance, he said, as lenders previously looked at credit jointly for unmarried couples buying a home together. "The marriage certificate doesn’t matter to the underwriter."

However, real estate experts are suggesting it may result in more homes becoming available for sale on the market, "as individuals decide to sell separately owned homes and move "into one dream home" according to San Francisco Realtor Patrick Lowell.

Interestingly, after I began writing about this marketing effort to the gay and lesbian community, I received an email from the Gay Real Estate Directory asking agents to consider joining the network.