POINT OF VIEW: Stevens Report

All for one, one for all

Why did President John F. Kennedy entreat Americans, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country”? It was January 1961. Americans were worried about the spread of Communism, global poverty, tyranny, and nuclear proliferation. Kennedy acknowledged in his inaugural address that those challenges wouldn’t be overcome during his presidency but that the work toward finding solutions needed to begin right away—and it needed to be the work of all Americans. “Will you join in that historic effort?” he asked.

Kennedy’s words keep coming to mind as I embark on the presidency of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Our country in 1961 was strong but facing much uncertainty. That’s exactly the situation we face in our industry today—and it’ll take all of us working together to keep real estate moving forward.

Even as consumer demand and low interest rates propel real estate sales, counterforces threaten to derail our industry and hurt real estate owners. A proposal to replace the mortgage interest deduction with a tax credit would drive up many Americans’ tax bills and drive down the value of their homes. The push by large banks to engage in real estate sales and management would impose unnecessary federal regulation on our business and likely result in higher costs and less service for consumers. The U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against NAR threatens to undermine brokers’ ability to control the use of their listing data by other brokers online and thus discourage broker cooperation; again, consumers would be the losers.

These challenges to our business aren’t happening because we’re bad people or because we’re not doing our jobs well. Just the opposite. We’ve done so well at carrying out the nation’s housing mission—helping to elevate homeownership to more than 69 percent of U.S. households—that others now look hungrily at our industry. Some would like to carve out a piece of it. Some would like to alter tax incentives in a way that drives investment in other directions. We need to stand up together against these threats.

At the same time, we don’t operate in a vacuum. Outside forces are always changing our business, and the pace of change will only increase. My motto for this year, “Tomorrow’s Future is Today,” speaks to how important it is for us to constantly monitor the impact of changing technologies, demographics, consumer preferences, and global resources.

All these challenges and changes require a strong NAR—one that can successfully protect your interests, your livelihood, your future—and that means we need you. Whether you’re a broker or a sales associate, whether your company is large or small, whether you’re independent or part of a franchise, we need you to be in tune with your association and involved. No, we won’t be on the same side on every issue—but we will be 95 percent of the time.

NAR calls itself The Voice for Real Estate®, but it’s really your voice, and it’s up to you to ensure that voice comes through loud and clear. President Kennedy’s inaugural message of 45 years ago rings as true as ever. The challenges we face today are bigger than any of us can overcome individually, but there’s no challenge we can’t overcome together.

MORE ONLINE
To get involved, start with the NAR Action Center, www.naractioncenter.com. Then explore the association’s Web site, REALTOR.org.