POINT OF VIEW: Whatley Report

The power of facts

Facts are a powerful tool. Our customers rely on us to have facts to assist them in making wise real estate decisions. In the public arena, local officials rely on us to provide substantive research to make our case for viable and responsible development decisions. Whatever your cause—more affordable housing, commercial growth, an eminent domain dispute—it’s strengthened by the power of research.

That’s why the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ new National Center for Real Estate Research is so important to all of us. The center supports research that contributes to a greater understanding of the industry as well as research that has practical application to our businesses, our markets, and public policy. In other words, the focus is on producing data that we can put to use in our businesses and in our communities.

We’re already seeing the fruits of the center’s research efforts. For example, a report on how federally assisted housing affects surrounding home values shows that the effect can be neutral or even positive, depending on the neighborhood context and concentration and scale of the assisted housing. That’s powerful information for those of us who advocate for affordable development and have to contend with critics who fear its impact on surrounding neighborhoods. As anyone who’s been in such a battle can attest, local development and zoning decisions are often dictated by emotion. How much better it is when we can bring fact to bear on the situation.

Another study examines how the federal Endangered Species Act affects land values. Still another looks at the wealth effect of real estate. We’ve all talked about the buoying effect real estate has had on the economy. Now, researchers at the American University in Washington, D.C., and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro have quantified the tremendous boost real estate equity gains give to consumer spending versus comparable gains in financial assets.

All these studies and others are available to you free at REALTOR.org (click Research). Not only that, at least a dozen more NAR-supported research projects are underway on topics ranging from the social benefits of homeownership to how changes in technology will impact the demand for commercial real estate services. This research will help us answer critical questions about the future of our business. Indeed, the research can help us shape our business in the years to come and present our business interests to our public officials.

While you’re at REALTOR.org, look at the tremendous amount of business intelligence available to you as an NAR member. In addition to the annual survey of recent homebuyers and sellers, which studies consumers’ changing expectations, there are reports on the evolution of business models in real estate, the second-home market, the growth of international real estate, and more.

As REALTORS®, we have powerful information available to us. Those who have real estate needs are counting on us to find ways to present it to our communities’ decision makers. Let’s use the strength of this knowledge well, as the champions of our customers and our industry.

—NAR President Cathy Whatley, CIPS, CRS®, GRI, LTG

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
To learn more about the new National Center for Real Estate Research, click here.