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Welcome to Realities, a newsletter profiling important issues impacting the real estate industry. Realities has been compiled for influential thought leaders who may be interested in the latest real estate news relating to public policy, the economy, the current residential and commercial markets, and recent studies and surveys profiling the state of the industry. The informative content below has been provided by the National Association of Realtors. We welcome any feedback or questions you may have about the information included in this issue. To no longer receive these emails, click to unsubscribe. |
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EDITORIAL: A Proven Record
The Times-Picayune 11/27/2006 New Orleanians owe a big thanks to members of the National Association of Realtors. read more >>.
Support for Any Theory
The Washington Post 12/9/2006 Is real estate heating up, cooling down, headed for a deeper freeze or just hanging in there despite the challenges? read more >>. |
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Pat Vredevoogd Combs Installed as NAR President |
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Pat Vredevoogd Combs has assumed the position of President of the National Association of Realtors for 2007. Combs, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been a Realtor® since 1971, and has been an active member of NAR's leadership team, serving as regional vice president of Region VI (Michigan and Ohio), National Fundraising Chair for the Realtors PAC, and first vice president. read more >>. |
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New MLS Policy Standardizes Property Listing Distribution |
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To address concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal TradeCommission over the policies of some MLSs on the display of exclusive-agency Web sites, the NAR Board of Directors recently voted to require multiple listing services to include in feeds to public web sites ALL listings authorized for distribution in the IDX feeds. Additionally, MLSs that operate a publicly accessible Web site or that transmit participants' listings to third-party aggregators like Realtor.com must include all listings in the data feed. The only listings that may be excluded are those that give the property's address or provide a graphic display of where the property is located and display a "For Sale By Owner" sign or other notice that indicates the seller is soliciting direct contact from buyers. |
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NAR Forecasts Continuation of Buyers Market in New Year |
NAR Chief Economist David Lereah recently released a 2007 forecast that suggests that existing home sales will remain around current levels in the New Year. Lereah called this "the most favorable market for home buyers in several years." Most sellers, he said, "are seeing very healthy returns on their investment." Price gains are expected to be modest for the remainder of 2006 and 2007. read more >>. |
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Two-Thirds of Consumers See Real Estate Industry as Competitive |
An October, 2006 survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, Inc. for NAR found that 67% of consumers believe the real estate industry has the right level of competition. The survey also found that a majority of consumers believe real estate agents must work harder now than they did a year ago, competing harder for customers now that the market has slowed down. For more information on the competition survey, contact Steve Cook. |
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NAR Buyers and Sellers Survey Quantifies Popularity of Brokerage Services |
Homebuyers and sellers are using technology more than ever, but still rely on the skills of professional Realtors when making final buying or selling decisions, according to a new NAR survey. Based on more than 7,500 responses to a national questionnaire, the survey finds that 95% of sellers are somewhat or very satisfied with the full-service brokerage experience. The survey found that 83 percent of consumers use full-sevice brokerages, 9 percent use limited services and 8 percent use minimal services, such as listing on an MLS. Only 12 percent sold their homes without the assistance of a professional, down from 13 percent last year and 18 percent in 1997. read more >>. |
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Real Estate Firms Invest in Technology |
Information technology is nothing new to the real estate sector. Almost eight out of 10 real estate firms have a Web site that's been online for a median of five years. While the vast majority of firm Web sites feature real estate listings, three out of five include mortgage or financial calculators; over half have community information. More than six in 10 firms increased technology spending in 2005, and 41 percent planned on additional technology spending in 2006 while another 56 percent anticipated they would maintain the same level of spending. Despite their technical sophistication, most real estate brokerages are small companies. The typical firm has a median of six licensees and one staff person. Among all firms, 73 percent report that all of their full-time licensees are independent contractors, along with 80 percent of part-time licensees. Just over half of firms reported no licensee left the firm in 2005, while 64 percent had at least one licensee join the firm. The data comes from NAR's 2006 Profile of Real Estate Firms: An Industry Overview. Copies can be ordered by calling 800/874-6500, or online.
The cost is $50 for NAR members and $125 for non-members. |
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© Copyright National Assocation of Realtors®
Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020
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