Real Estate Matters

Recently, as President-elect of the Sarasota Association of Realtors,  I attended the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Leadership Summit in Chicago, IL. The Leadership Summit is designed to assist Presidents-elect and chief staff executives of state and local associations to formulate programs in order to build stronger communities and influence both our businesses and our industry.

Many issues and challenges were discussed during the two day conference including international real estate issues affecting the US market, housing market and mortgage challenges, sustainable living and state of the art technology for consumers.

Foreclosure response initiatives were discussed as to how foreclosures now not only affect individual consumers but also impact entire communities. Many state and local Realtor associations are partnering with local governments and other community groups to enhance counseling services for troubled borrowers and develop strategies to help communities deal with the effects of foreclosures. NAR is working for prompt and reasonable implementation of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It reforms the FHA program, facilitates refinancing of problematic mortgages into fixed rate, FHA-insured mortgages and stabilizes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

NAR is helping shape the industry, both domestically and internationally, by leveraging NAR’s efforts along with those of allied groups, such as the International housing Coalition, the International Real Property Foundation and others. The goal is to minimize client, customer and agent/broker risk while building a global real estate community and strengthening the property market worldwide. NAR is helping expand and unite the global real estate market by supporting alliances that work toward the common industry good. NAR maintains 76 bilateral agreements with national and regional real estate associations in 57 countries, each with a code of ethics similar to NAR’s. Through the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA), NAR is working to set and raise global real estate standards and provide opportunities for worldwide Realtor brand marketing and adoption of U.S. best business practices including MLS, broker cooperation and transnational referrals, and – most importantly to NAR members – exposure for U.S. listings.

Through Realtor.com with over 6 million visitors per month looking at more than 4 million listings, Realtor.com is the largest Web site for homes on the Internet. In July 2008, Realtor.com began making home searches even easier. An improved user-friendly search function means consumers can find new properties more easily and quickly. The site also has a new map feature which combines listing data with Microsoft’s Virtual Earth technology. Consumers can view more listing pictures, learn more about communities, and see home value comparisons.

The 2008 leadership summit was designed to help both new and veteran leaders launch a new era for private property ownership in America and to unite the 2009 leadership and guide them toward a successful future.

Cheers, Bill