The True Value of REALTOR® Associations

Tom I respect your views on the importance of your local association but in my opinion the issue of what NAR has done is much broader. I just put in a counter post.

I turned a corner when my opinion was they are doing more wrong than good.  I rarely agree with what the lobbyist are getting paid to push in congress.

Real estate is local. State, local board control is where what affects us most happens. Every market is different and one size fits all won't work.

You make some great points, Tom!  I'll admit it, I have bashed NAR (Realtor.com) in the past.  But you're right; if what you say is true in terms of NAR being a bottom up organization, then we agent and brokers on the local level need to get more involved in serving on boards and committees so that our organization doesn't lose our voice in the years to come.  Just like in the mortgage industry, Realtors' income and relevance in general is under pressure from outside forces, including the likes of Zillow and Trulia, and the Internet as a whole.  The game is changing as we speak people...

Im my opinion the very core of the issue is that feel good commercials trying to convince people to buy are a complete waste of time and money.  People buy based on needs, based on economic circumstance,s based on wants.  There isn't a single person out there who watched any commerial from NAR about how awesome owning a home is who then ran to the phone and called a realtor to buy.  NAR would be better serving us by spending all of our dues dollars on  maybe using that single voice to affect policy not on feel good commericals and bus tours. 

Tom, I, too, support organized real estate.  Disorganized real estate would seem too unsightly to me.  I also disagree a lot with NAR, the latest being over complaining about appraisers.  They need to look inward at the mortgage fraud, aided by Realtors at various levels, and helping banks spread out the handling of REOs.

Tom, I really don't follow the politics of NAR as much as I should, but I don't think something as big as NAR is can do all "right."

Hi Tom, thank you for the volunteer work you do. It may seem, when we criticize NAR that you are unappreciated.... not so. Keep up the good fight!

P.S. BTW, I didn't "get" what was so bad about that video that they put out.              

I turned against them when they sold out Realtor.com to the same company that manages the sites of Coldwell Banker, C-21 and ERA. Then they sell us leads that they wouldn't have if we didn't upload our listings. Realtor.com should be set up to be the MLS for the nation and it would be so easy t do but not the money they are currently scr.... us out of. I would pay double the dues if they did that.

NAR hasn't done or said anything substanitive in years.  They were like Tommy -- deaf, dumb and blind -- during the bubble bust.  Now their ad campaigns are very condescending to renters and people who are childless, etc.  While your LOCAL board may be making things better, that's great.  The 40 people you mentioned compared to 1,000,000, doesn't equate well.  NAR does not speak for me and my voice is no where near their crappy TV commericals and radio ads.

Tom - Though I don't agree with a lot of what NAR does, it seems we've been more cushioned than the mortgage industry and the appraisers.

I just read and commented on Leslie's post.  I get where both of your are coming from.  My issue with NAR is that they seem to lack the necessary expertise to articulate the mission statement of the organization and reinforce the brand identity.  The public makes no distinction between agents and REALTORS, while at the same time they endorse a "Normal Rockwell" vision of homeownership.

Sure, they do a lot at the advocacy level but it would be nice if our dues were spent on building a strong brand image.

I think they are loosing their relevancy. Everything they have tried to do just seems to come out badly which puts a bad reflection on the rest of us. Lord knows, we don't need any more bad PR about miscalculations on sold numbers or this latest stupid faux pas with this commercial.

They lack overall sophistication with the media & consumers.