So by all definitions in the Realtor world, I'm a young guy at 33. There's not a lot of professionals my age in our industry where I believe I head the average age is 58 years old, per a seminar I sat in on taught by Jared James. NAR strikes me right now as a baby-boomer dominated organization that still holds on to that era of ideas, even in the face of a vastly changing real estate world. NAR is appears safe from total failure and I admire much of what is done there, however looking at the overall structure of NAR and what I observed after just returning from Orlando just makes me shake my head at times.
The National Association of Realtors seems to be working hard to re-invent itself. Right now it's political endeavors seem more front and center than ever. In the "59 1/2 Minutes" update program about 40 minutes of those 59.5 were dedicated to policy and political achievements. Now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for their efforts in this realm. I can't imagine how millions of people would be hanging on right now in the northeast if NAR-backed support of extended flood insurance did not go through Congress this summer.
But what I'm seeing from NAR is a growing disconnect from the changing world of the real estate consumer. Let me explain in a few points.
Point #1 - The generational gap: This is on two levels, first of all there is a big gap between the average age buyer and the average age Realtor (about a 25 to 30 year age gap on average). This is not a make or break for most people, however it requires better training and understanding for older Realtors to understand preferred methods of communication to get in line with today's modern buyer. So at NAR, how many classes were being taught on generational gaps and understanding different methods to strengthen generational communications? I counted two (I went to one to check it out).
The other level is the gap between promoting and bringing up the next generation of NAR leaders vs continuing on with the "old guard". NAR about 3 years ago rolled out a program to get younger agents more involved, they call it YPN (Young Professionals Network). YPN is a neat thing, I was involved with it more a few years back and still get invites to most of their event, although I rarely attend them. However as YPN has morphed you see that it's basically become two things, a network for us younger peeps to get a beer together, which is fun. The second part though is what appears to this observer as a failed attempt to make our generation feel like we are a small part of the "big kid" work we see the "adults" doing at NAR. YPN comes across to me at NAR's kiddy-table to put the younger leaders at so we can all have a beer and go dancing while the "adults" handle the "big business". What I've observed from YPN has been that's it become not much more than what most of us Gen-Y/Millennials have become to our parents - tech help. In talking to a younger Association Executive at the meetings they told me that there was a push for all YPN Assoc Executives to wear a certain color and identify themselves as YPN members to provide generational advice to those in need. They told me this was done before, and the biggest thing these AE's helped other Realtors with, was how to connect their smart phone to WiFi. I'm serious... yeah...
Point #2 - The consumer gap: I've shed some light on this already but I think NAR is missing the boat entirely by not having a lot of discussions and education on the modern consumer. At the convention there were excellent classes happening all day long by great educators, however consumer trends received only limited attention. The focus on many of the classes were focused much more on the agents themselves, and how to better who they are as a sales professional. Don't get me wrong, I think that's fine, however NAR's lack of focus on the consumer leaves that 3rd leg of their approach practically gone. (I see NAR as a stool with three main legs with the purpose of education/information/advocacy - the legs would be the consumer, the agent, and public/govt policy).
It's not like NAR is totally blind to the consumer however I think they're ignoring what a major role the modern consumer will play in re-shaping our industry. We're starting to see that many major urban markets are seeing Realtor membership is lower than 50% of all practicing agents. That's a pretty shocking realization. In areas with greater competition the value placed on being a Realtor is declining - yet I don't see NAR doing much to overcome that at this point.
Look at the trends with where the consumers are going to find real estate information. Up until a few years ago Realtor.com was THE place, now it's just barely in the top 5, with Yahoo, Zillow, and Trulia a more preferred network. All of which are privately owned and not Realtor based. (Side note-Realtor.com is privately owned as well, NAR gave it's trademarked name to partner with the site). Zillow is rapidly working on bringing in transaction coordinators to help and assist with needed advice. These sites are innovating at a pace that the modern real estate consumer demands - Zillow could find themselves nicely positioned to create a new phase of brokerage that does not the the much identified Realtor "R" involved with it at all.
Point #3 - The technology gap: There's also the technology side of things, while Realtors are adapting at a marginal pace on the technology scale it's becoming easy to see in many markets why Redfin, Trulia, and Zillow are succeeding. Real Estate buyers and sellers more than ever embrace technology and newer methods to deliver information regarding real estate. Yet there was a very limited focus on any sort of relevant or competitive technology taught at all this last week. What you would see taught instead was just using technology for lead generation, which is fine, but I'd be willing to bet your current buyers and sellers could give a rip about your lead generation to help them buy or sell right now.
Point #4 - The standards gap: Let me ask you this, if our Code of Ethics and it's limited suggestions on standards of practice are so powerful then why are Realtors continually viewed as one of the least professional industries nation wide? Something is missing, Realtors do not self-police each other very well. In an interesting example I reflect on my flight home yesterday. As my plane began its descent on my 1st flight into MSP we went through a major storm that made for an incredibly bumpy last 20 minutes. It was so bumpy the flight attendants were not allowed to go up and down the aisles. The head attendant got on the intercom and asked for all electronics to be turned off, seats upright, and tray tables up. She said that she'd not be able to come down the aisles but that if we could all hold each other accountable she would appreciate it. I tell you what, real or just perceived danger I witnessed a lot of strangers holding each other accountable, pointing out tray tables down, seats not up, and one guy pestering a lady across the aisle for 30 seconds until she shut her laptop. In the face of "real danger" on the plane (mostly just safety concerns) everyone acted fast and held others accountable. If NAR were on the "professional standards" flight they'd be smoking a cigar, watching a DVD, and unbuckled as the plane was shaking and on it's final descent. They're just ignoring the warning signs or assuming that someone else will take the up the cause. I saw no classes or major information shared at all on enhancing standards of practice for real estate agents at NAR.
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Now please don't confuse me, I enjoy being a Realtor and I want all of our professional images to increase. I think there are vast opportunities for NAR, if they can see them. I can't imagine not being a Realtor or leaving volunteer leadership for my association. I'll continue to work like hell to improve it. NAR needs to wake up and address the changing market or begin building a contingency plan to see their membership drop by 50% in the next 10 years... it's their choice. It starts with leaders and being receptive to these new market dynamics. For NAR's sake I hope they start doing more than just casual listening and actually start take some real action.
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