By Mark Blazek, President
Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®
A dozen representatives from Greater Chattanooga joined nearly 22,000 REALTORS® from across the country to meet with industry experts, lawmakers and federal officials at the 2013 REALTORS® Conference and Expo held in San Francisco, November 8-11.
As the leading advocate for homeownership and real estate issues, REALTORS® are engaged on important legislative and regulatory issues that could impact the industry over the coming year, and we are working hard to ensure that our voices are heard on important housing and industry issues. During the week, REALTORS® advocated solutions for important issues facing home buyers, sellers and investors, such as affordable flood insurance rates, ongoing residential and commercial lending challenges, and the potential impacts of pending legislation and recent regulatory developments.
This year’s conference theme, “Rise to New Heights”, encouraged REALTORS® to face current market challenges head-on and insist that policymakers keep housing first on the nation’s public policy agenda. Panelists and speakers included Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante, Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Senior Economist John Krainer, Wells Fargo Home Loans President Mike Heid, Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson, Bank of America’s Home Loan Sales Executive Matt Vernon, JPMorgan Chase Mortgage Banking CEO Kevin Watters, and former FHA Commissioners Brian Montgomery and John C. Weicher.
Throughout the week, REALTORS® participated in forums, classes and workshops; the resources, information and skills they gathered there will help them positively influence their local communities and engage local leaders. Most importantly, the new knowledge gleaned by REALTORS® who attended the conference helps them more effectively serve their home buyer, seller and investor clients.
The Greater Chattanooga contingent found especially interesting the sessions related to listing data. It seems our market is not alone with it comes to pocket listings and off-MLS listings, which skew local market data and adversely affect all sellers and buyers. As I discussed in a previous article, not only are these types of marketing practices in conflict with the rules of our multiple listings service, but also are potential violations of antitrust laws, licensing regulations and the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
Related to listing data is syndication – where a listing is disseminated beyond the local multiple listing service. Our managing brokers are not unlike many across the country, who are concerned about where their listings are being disseminated, legitimately or otherwise. My observation from the national conference is that many individual firm owners and multiple listings services are examining closely these relationships with listing syndicators. While it may appear to be in the best interest of sellers and buyers to have the data in as many places as possible, that certainly is not the case when the listing data loses its accuracy and integrity. This is an issue that we are closely monitoring for our local brokerage firms.
During the conference, Steve Brown, a REALTORS® from Dayton, Ohio, was installed as the 2014 NAR president. Brown said 2014 would be an important year for real estate. “The time is now for REALTORS® to engage on all fronts. While the national housing market is showing signs of a durable recovery, some critical housing industry issues must be addressed before a full recovery can take place,” he said. “In 2014, REALTORS® will continue to urge lawmakers to preserve property and homeownership tax policies as they consider federal tax reform.”
Representatives from Greater Chattanooga also had the chance to explore the latest industry innovations and products that are transforming the real estate business. Nearly 400 exhibitors showcased the newest real estate products and services for the industry during the trade expo.