REALTORS® Move "Full Speed Ahead" Toward Tomorrow's Real Estate Market

WASHINGTON, May 05, 2008

Things will be heating up in Florida this fall as the National Association of Realtors® convenes in Orlando for the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, November 7-10. This year’s conference, with the theme “Destination Success – Full Speed Ahead,” is expected to draw 25,000 Realtors® and guests as NAR continues its centennial celebration.

“For 100 years, NAR has been the leading advocate for private property rights, homeownership and housing issues,” said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., and the association’s 100th president. “With a century of experience and industry expertise behind them, Realtors® are the most trusted resource for real estate information today. The REALTORS® Conference & Expo gives NAR members the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, access advanced training, gain insight into industry trends and research, and connect with Realtors® from across the country to better serve their clients back home.”

The changing real estate market is top-of-mind for Realtors® and the communities they serve, and many conference sessions will help attendees meet the challenges they face in their local markets. One thing that hasn’t changed is Realtors®’ commitment to building communities, and Realtors® coming to Orlando will continue NAR’s tradition of helping one family in the conference city realize the American dream of homeownership. Realtors® will help build, dedicate, and present the keys to a local family on Wednesday, November 5, as NAR partners with the Greater Orlando Association of Realtors® and Habitat for Humanity for this project.

Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor, will be a featured speaker on Saturday, November 8. His message, “Choose to be a champion in life,” will set the tone for the week, inspiring and motivating attendees to new heights.

World champion quarterback and real estate investor Joe Theismann will participate in the Entrepreneurial Excellence Series, which offers insights from leaders across myriad industries. Theismann will be joined in the series, which continues throughout the conference, by Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect; David Meerman Scott, marketing vice president at News Edge Corp.; Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind; and Alicia Irons Matheson and Austin Brock, both of the Disney Institute.

Lionel Richie will perform on Friday, November 7. Richie is one of the music industry’s most successful male solo artists, with 13 consecutive top-10 hits in the ’80s. His hits include “All Night Long,” “Truly,” “Say You, Say Me,” and “Stuck on You.” Kool & The Gang will also perform at a special outdoor concert during the Realtors® Night Out at Universal Studios® Theme Park on Sunday, November 9.

Approximately 700 exhibitors are expected to participate in the REALTORS® Expo, which showcases the newest real estate products and services to help Realtors® better serve home buyers, sellers, and real estate investors by improving productivity, working more efficiently and staying up-to-date on the latest industry trends and technologies. The Expo will open on Friday, November 7, and continue through Monday, November 10.

As an industry innovator, NAR is expanding global real estate business opportunities for Realtors®. As part of the Expo, the International Second Home & Resort Pavilion will present an exhibit on second-home and vacation properties in the United States and around the world. The pavilion is sponsored by a partnership between NAR and Salon Immobiliario de Madrid, or SIMA. SIMA is the world’s largest real estate exposition.

To register for the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, visit www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/pages/registration. Registration for NAR members is $300 for all four days. More information about conference programs and events is available at www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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