The most-read real estate stories this week from REALTOR® magazine online’s Daily Real Estate News ranged from NAR’s settlement with the DOJ to how to expedite short sales.
NAR leaders are feeling good about the settlement agreement announced Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department. I spoke with NAR General Counsel Laurie Janik and Associate General Counsel Ralph Holmen on Wednesday. They emphasized two important wins for REALTORS®.
First, MLSs are strengthened: They can now prevent the participation of nonpractitioners who just want to sell buyer leads back to working brokers. Second, sellers will have more say in how their listings are presented online. Under the final order — which will be open for a 60-day comment period before it's truly final — sellers can have false or undesirable information (such as unfavorable blog posts) removed from their property listing on so-called "virtual office Web sites." These VOWs were at the heart of the lawsuit the DOJ filed against NAR in 2005.
Not surprisingly, attorneys at the Justice Department are characterizing the settlement as a government victory. That's because under the final order, brokers won't be able to selectively opt out of having their listings placed on VOW sites.
That poses no issue to NAR, Janik said, since sellers will now have a say about the environment in which their listings are displayed and very few brokers ever sought to exercise an "opt out" anyway.
Some media outlets have characterized the settlement as "letting Internet brokers into the MLS" or "ending discrimination against online brokers," but those were never the issue, Janik said. NAR doesn't determine its members' business models and no one engaged in brokerage was ever excluded from an MLS. As Janik asked me during our talk: "Who's not an Internet broker today?"
REALTORS® Mobilize More Easily Thanks to New Electoral Services Program
By Amy Konstas
Government Affairs Directors from across the country gathered today to learn about initiatives and programs from NAR’s government affairs department, including the new Electoral Services Program (ESP) that will enable state and local associations to reach target audiences more effectively during campaigns.
ESP provides recent voter data, data usage tools and even political consultants to help design effective campaigns. It also offers a national REALTOR® Voter File to enable effective communication with REALTORS® and a non-REALTOR® Voter File of more than 170 million registered voters that can be targeted to state or local needs.
GADs also received an update on NAR’s community programs – Housing Opportunity, Smart Growth and Diversity – including an addition to NAR’s conference lineup. “Bringing Workers Home,” scheduled for October 6, in Chicago, will highlight employer-assisted housing and the advantages to organizations that provide this valuable benefit to their employees. CVS Pharmacy and Harley-Davidson, two companies currently doing just that, are slated to be on the agenda.
Results from the NAR Green Building Survey of members were also shared during the session, and demonstrated that REALTORS® care deeply about environmental issues. Seventy percent believe NAR should become more involved on environmental issues, 40 percent said green building is important to business and energy efficiency was cited as the #1 environmental issue in real estate. A whopping 90 percent of respondents believe that environmental issues will continue to increase in the future.
Jerry Giovaniello, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, provided a legislative update. Networking sessions for both state and local GADs followed.
The Maine Association of REALTORS is embracing social media in a big way to help bring attention to the joys of homeownership in the state. Your Piece of Maine is a new campaign launched by the state association in conjunction with YouTube that will award $20,000 to the person or family who makes the best video about why it's great to live in The Pine Tree State, also known as Vacationland. Lesser prizes will be awarded to nine other winners, all selected by a celebrity panel of judges, the Maine Association's CEO Cindy Butts told state association executives gathered this morning in Washington, DC, for a forum at NAR's Annual Midyear Meeting. Butts told the group that the state association has had great success promoting the campaign on Facebook, where YPOM has its own page. The contest ends June 2, and winners will be announced June 20.
This morning's marketing forum, Success in Any Market, was a fascinating combination of statistical market data and wildly unorthodox approaches to the business of real estate. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun presented on marketing trends, based in large part on the results of NAR's 2007 Home Buyers and Sellers Survey - practical, useful information for REALTORS® fighting to convey the message that not only is every market different, but every neighborhood is different, and that there truly is no national real estate market.
Yun challenged attendees to identify unique opportunities in challenging times. For example, oil prices force everyone to reevaluate. Meet consumers where they are and build on this by concentrating your efforts on home sales closer to job centers and near public transportation/rail stations and on smaller, more energy-efficient homes.
And then came Terry Watson, who is possibly the most dynamic speaker this gal has ever encountered. His wit and energy were infectious. With an unorthodox approach to real estate and marketing, he had folks simultaneously rolling in the aisles and scrambling to right down his every word and recommendation. "You are not a sales agent," he began. "You are a marketing genius!"
Watson talked so quickly, I can't possibly recount all the gems, but check out www.terrywatson.com for his ideas, presentations, and a good laugh (it's guaranteed).
His three main messages were simple:
Be different. You can't do the same old thing and expect different results.
Everything is a marketing opportunity. Don't let anything leave your possession without your contact information and Web site attached - emails, cards, publications, everything. Don't waste one opportunity to build your brand.
Have more fun. Think about it, he insisted. When people see you having fun doing what you do, the message they get is that you're in control of your business and you're in control of your market. It instills confidence, and in today's environment, what could be better than that?
Joint International-Resort Forum Offers a World of Information
By Maura York
Attendees of Friday morning's forum, co-presented by NAR International and NAR Resorts, hit the trifecta, thanks to three speakers who gave valuable presentations about foreign nationals interested in the U.S. market and opportunities for Americans abroad.
David Michonski, CIPS, consulted research from NAR and others to provide an insightful examination of the past, present, and potential future of the United States' real estate market and how international buyers impact it. He pointed out that because foreign-born buyers are seeking vacation homes for themselves or properties to rent to others, they have long-term interest in their purchases (unlike many local buyers -- especially those of the last eight to 10 years), so they are less likely to flip property and require a lot of data up-front about the market in which they are looking. Michonski recommended that U.S. consumers and REALTORS® would be wise to adopt that perspective, regardless of what we're hearing in the press about the U.S. housing market, because the stats support the long view.
RSPS instructor and multiple-designee Melanie McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, used her time at the podium to share the wealth of knowledge she's amassed about resources available to REALTORS® who deal with second-home buyers, as well as practical suggestions on how to maximize those opportunities.
For instance, she pointed out, NAR conferences offer not only sessions and courses that help further your education, they also foster invaluable networking that attendees should parlay into business. McLane also recommended that everyone at today's forum should visit the following two URLs: realtor.org/international and worldproperties.com.
Finally, Deutsche Bank Senior Vice President Nicholas Farina discussed a new cross border end-loan mortgage commitment program it started offering in 2007, after acquiring subsidiary MortgageIT, Inc. He said the bank identified a non-U.S. lending opportunity for U.S., Canadian, and some European home buyers in the Dominican Republic, because many of the mortgage options there are too limited or their terms too restrictive.
DB's new mortgage commitments can be up to 70 percent of the financing, are underwritten in the U.S., and cover a variety of property types (single-family homes/"villas," condos, townhomes, and condotels). Farina also said the process has been "Americanized" to provide approvals within 72 hours and closing within 30 days. The program started is presently available in the Caribbean and Latin America, but an expansion to Asia is planned for 2009.
Blogs, podcasts, and social networking Web sites are becoming crucial marketing tools for anyone in real estate. But unrestrained passion for these powerful communication vehicles could put you at odds with the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
That was the key message at a session held here at NAR's Midyear Meetings. Keith Garner, managing director of NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology, called on REALTORS® to pay particular attention to Article 12 of the Code, which says practitioners shall be “honest and truthful in their real estate communications and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations.”
That includes what you say about yourself on blogs, Facebook, and other sites. “Successful blogs never run into these problems. You’ll be called out by others if you’re not careful,” Garner said.
When an audience member questioned the necessity of disclosing that you're a real estate agent when posting on blogs or sending messages with micro-blogging tools like Twitter, popular real estate blogger Bill Lublin, the forum chair, answered that providing such information was absolutely essential: “It’s always important to identify yourself fully in your profile.”
The anonymity that’s allowable or encouraged for commentators on many blogs has no place on professional real estate sites, all panelists agreed.
So there it is: The “pathway to professionalism” that’s provided by the Code of Ethics is just as relevant in the free-flowing environs of the Internet as it is in face-to-face business interactions of contracts and closing.
Housing markets with staggering inventory could quickly even themselves out if auctions were included in the MLS. That comes from Ben Anderson, chair of NAR’s Auction Presidential Advisory Group.
“Auctions can help us reduce the oversupply of inventory in America,” he told the crowd Thursday at a discussion of MLS issues and policies at NAR’s Midyear Meetings. “In an auction, you can sell a hundred homes in a subdivision in an hour and 50 minutes.”
Anderson, a real estate broker and president of Anderson Auctions Real Estate in Destin, Fla., is encouraging NAR to adopt an official policy and guidelines on how MLSs should handle auction properties.
Some MLSs already include auction properties in their databases, although they go about it in different ways.
James Harrison, president of MLSListings Inc. in Northern California, said auctions are allowed in his MLS but listings must meet certain requirements. For example, a valid listing agreement must exist, a list price must be entered (starting bid price or range), unconditional compensation
must be offered, and some degree of an agency agreement must be in place for the duration of the listing. The property also must be clearly identified as an auction listing, and the type of auction (for example, reserved, absolute, or minimum bid) must be specified.
Geoff Gurney, from the MLS Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS® in Florida's panhandle, said his group has allowed auction properties since 2004. There’s no requirement that a price be listed, but details of the auction event must be provided. Some required fields are: Auction date and location, inspection/preview instructions, and type of auction. The Emerald Coast Association has more information on its Auction Marketing Council Web site.
“Auctions will never replace what we do as REALTORS® in a traditional sense,” Anderson said. “It’s just another method of selling real estate.”
He said the bottom line is that real estate professionals need to be aware of auction listings so they have the opportunity get involved in this segment of the market.
Today I attended the Business Technology & Information Systems Forum where the buzz was about “real-time everything.” Speakers included NAR’s Chief Technology Officer Mark Lesswing and Errol Samuelson, President of REALTOR.com. Samuelson sounded the demise of the PC as the dominant means of accessing data and the emergence of mobile devices as primary information tools instead. He also believes mobile devices and video technology are having the greatest impact on real estate technology and present opportunities for advertising innovation.
Lesswing introduced the concept of Real-Time Real Estate (that’s RTRE, for those in the know), the end-to-end delivery model for residential real estate services and provided a supporting white paper to session attendees.
Other speakers included J. Lennox Scott, Chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate in Seattle, WA, and Keith Garner of NAR’s Center for Real Estate Technology, who presented a detailed review of mobile technology (WiMax, Mesh networks), including accessibility and speed.
I had the distinct pleasure of piling on a bus with a group of Nevada REALTORS® on Wednesday afternoon and heading to Capitol Hill to meet with not one, not two, but five Nevada representatives - the entire Nevada delegation. These politically active REALTORS® have been visiting their Congressmen and Congresswomen for years as part of the NAR Midyear meetings. Their dedication to the issues and to being a part of the political process was undeniable, and it certainly seems to have earned them a great deal of respect from their politicians.
For the first time, a room in the Capitol building was secured, allowing the delegation to come and address the group as their afternoon schedules allowed. In years past, the group had moved from office to office across the Hill to engage their representatives. All agreed that this year was the best yet.
First up was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, followed by Congressmen Jon Porter and Dean Heller, and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley. Last but not least was Senator John Ensign. There was much discussion about specific bills and the issues of the day, including FHA reform, GSE reform , the Homebuyer Tax Credit, National Flood Insurance Program, and both Property and Casualty and Small Business Health Insurance.
As an observer, here's what I took away from the afternoon: This group of REALTORS® is engaged and involved in the political process - there to be heard as Nevadans, as REALTORS®, and as home owners. They know their delegation and their delegation knows them. They are vocal, visible, connected, and doing their part. Isn't that what politics is all about? And it was really cool to hear more than one of the Nevada delegation call the "REALTOR® Party" one of the best organized, most knowledgable grassroots groups in the political arena. It wasn't hard to see why.
I’m sitting on the floor of a Marriott Wardman Park ballroom.
That’s because REALTORS® and REALTOR® association executives — here for NAR’s midyear meetings — have crowded into the room to learn about Surround Sound, a campaign NAR launched earlier this year. The program trains REALTORS® to become ambassadors for the industry in their local community, combatting national news stories that paint a glum picture of the housing market.
Surround Sound is a grassroots program; NAR staff travel to local associations along with a
contingent of PR experts and conduct an intensive, day-long session about how to communicate effectively about local market conditions. NAR has engaged international PR giant Burson Marsteller and will help foot the bill for the local training sessions.
The crowd heard Vlad Cartwright and Adam Clampitt of Burson Marsteller give a condensed, hour-and-a-half version of program, which has so far traveled to 17 local markets. Another 15 sessions are already planned with more on the way.
What exactly is Surround Sound? It’s a broadly focused campaign to engage the local community. That means knowing the facts about your market and getting those facts out in a variety of forums — including speeches before business groups and other local organizations, letters to the editors, stories placed in local newspapers, blogs and social networking sites, and discussions at kids’ soccer games — so that consumers are surrounded by your messages. Thus, the name Surround Sound.
The program isn’t a short-term solution. It requires the care and feeding of local practitioners, Cartwright said. But over time the tactics build on themselves. REALTORS® who become engaged in the campaign can use the same method in the future when they have other messages to get out to their market.
Cartwright emphasized that the campaign isn’t about creating industry cheerleaders. “We want you to be realistic, credible spokespeople for the industry.”
Media training is an important element of the program, and Clampitt offered several tips for talking with reporters:
- Create “push button” messages that you can use to answer any question
- Don’t speculate about what you don’t know
- Set a reasonable time limit
- Don’t argue with the reporter
- Beware of “off the record,” since nothing is off the record
Clampitt concluded with a great admonition about the importance of staying on message: “An interview’s not a quiz, a deposition, or a place for original thought.”
Visit the Surround Sound Web site to learn more and to access a do-it-yourself tool kit that includes hundreds of pages of resources, such as talking points, stump speeches, PowerPoint presentations, and letters to the editor.
OK, my legs are starting to ache. Time to stand up!
Wednesday’s Capitol Hill meeting between the Indiana Association of REALTORS® and freshman Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly was nothing short of a lovefest.
When the Indiana association’s VP and federal political coordinator, Paul Wyman, told Donnelly that they’d given him a “100% voting record” on real estate-related issues, the Blue Dog Democrat nearly blushed. “I didn’t even know that,” he insisted.” It’s not like we say we better be right all the time with the REALTORS®. Your issues coincide with what is right.”
Indeed, the fiscal conservative’s consistent support of foreclosure prevention efforts, federal tax credits for first-time home buyers, and other housing stabilization efforts as a member of the Financial Services Committee chaired by Rep. Barney Frank has proved a perfect fit with the interests of struggling Indiana practitioners. (New home sales fell 36% in the Hoosier state last year, while existing-home sales dropped 13%.)
Donnelly conceded that even if the U.S. House and Senate ultimately agreed on a package of initiatives to help struggling borrowers, it will be an uphill battle to keep President Bush from torpedoing the legislation with his veto pen. “We’re intent on putting confidence back into the market,” Donnelly told the contingent of roughly a dozen practitioners from his district in the South Bend-Kokomo region of Indiana.
The spectacular absence of cynicism in the Longworth House Office Building during the visit made me wonder how real estate professionals elsewhere are feeling about efforts from their own members of Congress to tackle the mortgage mess. Are they doing enough? Do you even know where your Senators or Representatives stand with regard to shoring up housing? Let us know what you think. It will help us understand if the amiable Indiana visit with Donnelly was a fluke or not.
I learned in the Federal Housing Policy Committee meeting that FHA loans now make up 15-20 percent of the mortgage market. It’s estimated in August these loans may comprise about 40 percent of the entire market. Overall, the FHA culture has changed for the better, and FHA loans are now very valuable business and a good opportunity for REALTORS®.
More borrowers are being reached in terms of eligibility to get a loan, which is good, and the introduction of foreclosure prevention plans by Democrat Senators Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd would also help alleviate trouble within the housing market. But principal reduction must be addressed for loans already underwater.
Robert Authier, RCE, CAE, chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® and real estate professional of more than 25 years, was announced as the recipient of the 2008 William R. Magel Award of Excellence at Wednesday morning's Association Executives Forum. Peers cited Authier's tremendous contributions as a mentor to other AEs and as a coach to REALTOR® members among the reasons he deserved the highest honor an association executive can earn.
According to Helen Carter, RCE, CAE, the Recommendations and Recognition Subcommittee Chair who presented the award, the words "integrity," "intelligence," "professionalism," and "humility" had all been used to describe the award winner. An active NAR committee member and director over the years, Authier is also credited with playing an integral role in progressing NAR initiatives for AEs, including moving the RCE Designation online and co-authoring the REALTOR® Association Models Online Planning Tool. This year he is a liaison for five Association Executive Committee workgroups and is serving on the NAR Research Committee and the NAR Board of Directors.
The William R. Magel Award of Excellence is presented annually to an individual who has truly excelled in his or her role as an association executive of a local or state association of REALTORS® and who is active in the REALTOR® organization. Authier will be recognized with a plaque at the Board of Directors Meeting during the 2008 REALTORS Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla.
If you’re like me, you're tired of worrying constantly that you or your family may not be able to get health insurance, afford coverage, or keep coverage if they have a serious illness.
I’m one of the lucky ones, since NAR offers health insurance for its employees. But I have friends and brothers and sisters who work for themselves — just as most REALTORS® do — and aren’t so lucky. Either they must pay hundreds of dollars a month for coverage, or rely on a spouse for coverage. But what if you simply can’t afford the coverage, or what if your spouse gets laid off?
These concerns are why I’ve always intently followed NAR’s efforts to get a small-business health plan bill through Congress. I hadn’t heard much about the initiative lately — at least not until I sat in on the Business Issues Committee meeting today at the NAR Midyear Meetings.
That’s where I heard that NAR has been keeping up the fight and has now played a key role in shaping the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, a bill introduced in Senate last month. This bill would create a national pool of people seeking insurance from private health care insurance providers. It wouldn’t be mandatory for small companies to participate, but it would guarantee that anyone seeking coverage could get it regardless of their health issues, and it would give a tax credit to individuals and companies to cover some portion of premiums.
According to NAR staff working on these efforts, the bill addresses many of the concerns some groups had about previous small-business health plan proposals. This one may finally be able to get enough votes to move through both houses. There’s still no guarantee it will pass this year, but with any luck, I’ll be able to stop worrying about health insurance soon — before I make myself ill.
More than 100 REALTORS® filled the Marriott Wardman's Thurgood Marshall Ballroom East Tuesday morning for the first of two NAR Election Forum sessions (the second is 2 p.m. Thursday in the same location).
NAR First Vice President Vicki Cox Golder and NAR Past President Cathy Whatley facilitated the discussion on election reform recommendations, which NAR's Board of Directors referred back to the Nominating Committee at last November's REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Since then, the Leadership Team has bundled like recommendations and divided them into two groups: non-controversial and those warranting additional discussion.
Not surprisingly, only two brief questions arose among the six non-controversial motions, while the four other recommendations elicited a bit more conversation.
Some wondered whether a proposal to reduce the importance of endorsements would really generate multiple candidates, and if doing so would skew the decision of the Nominating Committee members. Proponents of the measure asserted that more candidates would be encouraged to run if the perception of one candidate having a lock on the race was diminished.
Other issues included length of service for regional representatives on the Nominating Committee and a proposed Candidate Audit Work Group that would expand on the Nominating Committee chair's current duties of reviewing and interpreting candidates' legal and financial audits.
The Nominating Committee will review the 10 recommendations and decide which, if any, to bring before the Board of Directors.
59 1/2: Celebrating 100 Years of Achievement, Plus a Look to the Future and a Yellow Rose of Real Estate
By Amy Konstas
Ebby Halliday is my new hero! I just came from 59 1/2 Minutes: A Member & Director Update, where the packed audience was treated to a captivating and insightful conversation between NAR President Dick Gaylord and Dallas REALTOR® Ebby Halliday — who, by the way, also happens to be 97 years old. Full of humor, and looking charming in a bright blue suit, Ebby discussed her career in real estate — one that’s spanned over 60 years. She even entertained the crowd with a little ukulele. What's her secret to longevity? "I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I don't retire." Ebby is a true legend of the business, and just an inspiration in life.
NAR 2008 President-Elect Charles McMillan explored how NAR’s accomplishments over the past 100 years have shaped the contours of the real estate industry and 20th century America in the process. Just a few of the achivements include the orderly exchange of property, expansion of communities across the country, and the creation of fair housing opportunities.
And finally, 2008 First Vice-President Vicki Cox Golder laid out NAR’s legislative agenda to stimulate the housing market and stem the tide of foreclosures.
The Commercial Real Estate Research Subcommittee convenes twice a year at the NAR Midyear and Annual meetings. At today's Midyear meeting, a spirited discussion ensued about NAR maintaining its position as the industry-leading source of relevant, thorough, practical commercial real estate research for its membership. Subcommittee members are an active, engaged group, and the meeting was informal but incredibly informative.
Issues of the day included the development of research delving into municipalities and their infrastructure (as it relates to commercial real estate and property ownership), as well as global economic trends and development challenges. The consensus: NAR should be a strong, solid national association on these issues and should generate proprietary research data to lead the industry.
The recently released and comprehensive 2007 Commercial Member Profile was presented and will be made available on REALTOR.org, through the NAR Research and RCA channels.
Questions raised by the group included: What can be learned from countries who have been dealing with soaring energy and oil prices that now confront the U.S.? How will these rising prices affect the urban planning and development of U.S. cities and, in turn, the work of commercial real estate professionals? How can NAR help members know what to expect, drawing lessons from how the industry has dealt and adapted around the world?
A workgroup (including representatives from all NAR affiliates) will be formed to oversee research on these questions, to be solidified into a member survey in the next 60 days. The goal: to identify the most pressing commercial real estate issues. This workgroup will also "fill the gap" between the subcommittee's twice-yearly meetings and ensure that research is compiled and reported in the timeliest manner.
And thank you to the Honolulu contingent for supplying macadamia nuts for the group and lucky guests!
Do you know how many words are in the preamble of NAR’s Code of Ethics? If you said 460, you'd be right. It starts with "Under all is the land ..." and ends with a reference to the Golden Rule. When is the last time you read the preamble?
Richard Mendenhall, 2001 president of NAR, told the 26-member inaugural class of NAR's Leadership Academy that he reads it every year on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He reads it on that day, he said, to remind himself of how important honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness are to his business and to effective leadership. Richard, a REALTOR® in Columbia, Mo., was at the helm of NAR during the attacks and oversaw the creation of the REALTORS® Relief Foundation, which has collected millions of dollars over the years to help disaster victims.
On Monday he delivered the graduation address to this class of future NAR leaders, who are gathered in Washington, D.C., for NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings. The topic of his address was ethical leadership.
Anyone who has ever heard Richard speak knows he is eloquent, engaging, and inspiring — especially when talking from the heart about things he cares deeply about. Leadership and ethics are clearly some of those things. For the whole 30 minutes that he spoke, I didn’t see anyone checking a Blackberry. Now that's saying something!
Richard talked about the demise of ethics and integrity in today's business world, pointing to the obscene excesses and deceptions of the leaders of Enron, Tyco, and Worldcom. He said it's precisely because of this demise that leaders must recognize their most precious asset is their integrity. He talked about NAR’s Code of Ethics — and although he hasn't memorized all of its articles and standards, he can recall key parts of the preamble without any prompting at all:
“Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization…Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which REALTORS® should dedicate themselves...In the interpretation of this obligation, REALTORS® can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rule: Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
He told members of the graduating class that there are certain things other people will want to know about them as leaders: Where have you been? Why are you here? Where are you going? Do you care about me? Can I TRUST you? If you want to lead, you need to have honest, thoughtful answers to these questions, recognizing that always — especially with that last question — your actions will speak much louder than your words.
Richard's presentation was peppered with great quotes about leadership and integrity, all of which he delivered with his own special passion. One of them (a personal favorite of mine) is a piece of wisdom from Albert Einstein: "Don't try to become a person of importance. Try to become a person of value."
Clearly, these are words that Richard Mendenhall has lived by.
CNN's Paul Begala and MSNBC's Tucker Carlson impressed the crowd with their wit and finely tuned political insight at Tuesday's Legislative and Political Forum.
Attendees spent much of the session laughing uproariously as Carlson and Begala threw out one-liners, dishing about candidates in the 2008 presidential election and directing jabs at the opposing party and each other.
Selected (tongue-in-cheek) quotes from the session:
1. "It's a bad time to be a Republican ... I'm this close to moving to Idaho and stockpiling weapons and food." (Carlson)
2. "Bush's said of McCain's presidency, 'They ought not misunderestimate him.'" (Begala)
3. On Mike Huckabee: "He doesn't believe in evolution ... or gravity, or photosynthesis." (Begala)
4. On Hillary Clinton: "You want to get in a 'man-off with her? I don't think so." (Carlson)
5. "McCain's campaign slogan is 'Get off my lawn!'" (Begala)
6. "An Obama speech ... is like a dog whistle - most people can't hear it, but for those who can [it's very loud]." (Carlson)
Rather than facing off directly (as they did during their days as co-hosts of CNN's Crossfire), Carlson and Begala addressed the crowd in succession, each offering views on the lead-up to the November election.
Carlson said the Democrats are extremely well-positioned for the race, but that "anytime you get two or more Democrats in a room, they immediately make a circular formation like a firing squad." He noted that there is no one on television who thinks Hillary Clinton should stay in the race, comparing her to a drunk party guest who has overstayed her welcome.
Carlson also noted that the media has never had a love affair with a candidate the way it does with Obama, and that Obama needs to moderate his message of change because "Americans really don't want change ... what they want is incremental improvement." He said if Obama wants to win, his focus needs to be on working-class, older and Hispanic voters, many of whom are current Clinton supporters.
Begala did not disagree with Carlson that this election will be very important, calling it a "change election.' However, he didn't necessarily share the assessment that too strong a change message could be a negative, saying, "There are only two basic messages [a candidate could deliver]: change or stay the course."
Given the current political environment, Begala said, there will be little support for a candidate who wants to stay the course. Begala cited the Obama campaign's quarter-billion-dollar fundraising efforts as evidence of the strength of the change message. He also said, however, that "people underestimate Hillary at their peril."
Many staff members arrived in D.C. today for NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo, taking place through Saturday.
While the weather at the moment leaves a little something to be desired, the meeting schedule does not - we're all looking forward to the many fantastic sessions this week. Highlights on Tuesday include the Legislative and Political Forum with Tony Snow, Communications Directors Networking Session, and 59 1/2 Minutes: A Member and Director Update.
The REALTOR.org and REALTOR® magazine teams will be reporting live from the meeting all week, and we're looking forward to your comments and observations about the event. Stay tuned, and we hope to see you here!
Real estate pros can be forgiven for not wanting to read the news the last few months given all the negative headlines about the housing sector. But if you’re in that group of non-readers, it’s time to read at least one recent article you probably will enjoy and want to share with clients and coworkers.
The Wall Street Journal on May 6 ran an opinion piece with the headline “The Housing Crisis Is Over.” In it, Cyril Moulle-Berteaux, managing partner of New York-based hedge fund Traxis Partners LP, makes the case that the combination of falling housing prices and lower mortgage rates have made homes affordable again. Housing prices rose so far, so fast, during the boom, he says, that houses became unaffordable for many people. It now takes 19 percent of monthly income for the average home buyer to meet the typical mortgage payment, he says, and 31 percent of monthly income for first-time buyers. Those affordability levels haven’t been seen since the 1990s, he contends, and its affordability that stimulates demand.
Years ago when I was writing about the local business scene in the Chicago area, I had an auto dealer tell me his customers didn’t think about the price of a car they wanted, they thought about how much a month it would cost them to buy that car. So, he worried more about auto loan interest rates than he did about Detroit pricing decisions.
I think in many cases the same logic holds true for someone buying a house. Price is an abstract number, unless someone is paying cash, of course. What matters is the monthly carrying cost, which is a function of price, mortgage interest rates, and local property tax rates. Moulle-Berteaux argues that in the boom years, carrying costs got beyond most people’s ability to pay, and that drove buyers — especially first-time buyers — away.
An interesting piece, one you might want to print out and put up on your wall or include in your listing presentations to answer client doubts about when the market will improve.
My sister just sold her home in Nashville, Tenn., in three weeks. While it may have just been luck (and a good salesperson), I think it was because of her staging.
Not only did her home sell in less than half of the days on market for the area (80 days on average in March 2008, according to the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®). But the buyers paid her full price, provided she left most of the furniture.
The house looked so good, they not only imagined living there; they imagined living there just as they first saw it. Now, my sister is an interior designer by profession, so she did the staging herself. But in my mind, her experience demonstrates the power that staging offers.
Making her house look good got her a great price and allowed her to move into the new home she’d built without carrying two mortgages. It’s also convinced me that when I put my house on the market next year, I’m going to send her a round-trip ticket as an inducement so she’ll do the same staging magic for me.
The federal government is spending some $20 billion a year or so on infrastructure development and modernization but according to a report released last week by the Urban Land Institute, that annual investment falls short by some $200 billion a year of what's needed. That's because much of our infrastructure is about 50 years old and is not only becoming structurally unsound but needs redevelopment to accommodate the size of loads we put on it today.
The federal government is spending some $20 billion a year or so on infrastructure development and modernization but according to a report released last week by the Urban Land Institute, that annual investment falls short by some $200 billion a year of what's needed. That's because much of our infrastructure is about 50 years old and is not only becoming structurally unsound but needs redevelopment to accommodate the size of loads we put on it today. After all, the country has grown by about 100 million people since much of our infrastructure was developed. ULI estimates a quarter of our bridges and a quarter of our roads are functionally obsolete or nearly so.
What's more, while the U.S. treads water in this area, its main economic competitors around the globe--China, India, and Europe--are busily investing in the kinds of projects like transit systems, ports, highways, and bridges that will position them for future economic growth. In many cases in Europe, project funding comes from public-private partnerships and user fees that have yet to catch on in a big way here. ULI's report, called "Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage," is intended to be a wake-up call to lawmakers that unless the country gets serious about boosting its infrastructure investment, not only will the country put its economic success at risk, it will see more spectacular engineering disasters like the levee failure in New Orleans and the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Less catastrophic but equally important, there will also be more productivity loss as we spend more of our time in traffic jams, not just on our roads but at our airports too. One analyst quoted in the ULI report calls U.S. infrastructure "medieval" compared to the state-of-the-art facilities going up in other parts of the developed and developing worlds. For a country that has long prided itself on its advanced economy, that hurts.
To be sure, some forward-looking projects are in the works. At ULI's press conference on the report, speakers mentioned an $8 billion light rail line, funded in part through local bond issues, that will connect Denver to its surrounding communities, among other projects. In my own experience, the upscale mixed-use development springing up in the Washington, D.C., area around the metropolitan subway system's transit corridor is a gold-plated case study of the right way to develop infrastructure. Not only are the thousands of housing units within walking distance of the subway system enjoying rock-solid appreciation (albeit with some flattening that's reflective of today's market realities), but traffic congestion is under surprising control, at least in the areas with the heaviest concentration of transit-oriented housing development.
Clearly the Washington area is an exceptional case because of the presence of the federal government. Decades ago, local governments in the area were able to plan a major transit system because officials understood the federal government provided a solid economic anchor for growth. What the ULI report makes clear, though, is that big transit projects like the Washington Metro can't be considered a luxury any more. One eye-opening statistic that speakers shared is the increase in vehicle miles on American roads today. While miles of interstate have increased about 20 percent since 1980, vehicle traffic on these roads has increased 200 percent. Not only would ramping up road development to meet demand be prohibitively expensive, it would turn our cities and towns into little more than interstate interchanges.
Of more immediate importance is the consequence of continuing down the path of unlimited gas consumption. With pump prices now averaging $3.50 a gallon and more hikes looming as China and India continue their unprecedented growth spurt, we have to ask ourselves whether the time has come to get serious about high-speed trains and other transit options, especially in car-oriented areas like the west and southwest.
NAR leaders a few years ago acknowledged the new realities when the Board of Directors passed a transportation policy that supports a modest gas tax hike and a new formula for using highway trust fund money for transit projects.
With some presidential candidates today talking about temporarily rolling back the federal gas tax, which is the principal source of money for the highway trust fund, it hardly seems like the environment for anyone to be talking about raising the gas tax to fund more transit projects. But that's what some of the speakers at the ULI briefing were calling for. In the long-run an increase seems to make sense, because by investing in transit now we can lessen our dependence on cars and thus reduce the demand for gas and also help curb congestion problems. Such a shift could also help property values in suburbs along new transit lines, because housing that's close to transit has a track record of strong appreciation. Certainly in a world of $3.50-a-gallon gas and stalled commuter traffic, "driving until you qualify" makes less sense than it once did.
REALTORS(R) will have an opportunity to weigh in on these issues next year, when Congress is scheduled to start looking at major transportation funding legislation.
The most-read real estate stories this week from REALTOR® magazine online’s Daily Real Estate News ranged from news of a mortgage fraud scam to the best cities for entrepreneurs.
Realtor® Magazine Managing Editor John N. Frank met with California real estate pros recently to discuss editorial plans for the magazine and also to talk about the Sacramento market. Frank, on the left here, greets Patti Martinez of Lyon Real Estate and Patrick Lieuw, CRB, CRS, secretary-treasurer of the Sacramento Association of Realtors ®, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
It’s always important to be vigilant in your business dealings and to be on the look out for unscrupulous clients and vendors, but maybe more so in tough times that bring out flim-flam artists preying on people in difficult situations.
Real estate pros I spoke with this week in Sacramento mentioned two schemes they think their fellow professionals should be aware of.
The first involves unscrupulous lenders. One panel member said she has had potential clients come to her saying they planned to buy a second house and to then walk away from the underwater mortgage on their first home. They claimed a lender had told them they could get a mortgage for the new house while their credit was still clean and then walk away from the first loan with no repercussions. She refused to deal with them and warned others to be on the lookout for that.
A second scam involves training classes that promise big results but don’t deliver. One participant in our REALTOR® magazine reader panel noted he had paid $3,000 to a trainer promising to help him navigate the changing world of real estate technology only to have the trainer fail to deliver any training.
The bottom line: Deals that seem too good to be true probably are. And before you sign over money to anyone, get references from others who have used that service.
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