NAR raises dues… yawn
Oh sure. Lots of agents will complain and bemoan having to pay more. But I doubt NAR will lose any members (due to the dues increase) they weren’t going to lose anyway. There is a very interesting relationship between how many members NAR has and the average number of sales per member. Although some members are not directly or significantly impacted by this sales-to-member-ratio, it does have an impact on the average NAR member, regardless of if they think it does or not.
The chart above, showing NAR Members VS Average Sales is from the wonderful Gary Keller book, Shift.
Looking at the chart it is pretty easy to see a pattern: that there is a relationship between the number of members and the number of sales. And that the number of members – when falling off – lags the drop off in the market. Notice in this second chart, NAR Members VS Available Sales Per Person that because of that lag (NAR membership is at its lowest when the perception is “the market is bad” and highest when the perception is “the market is good”) there are times when the Number of Available Sales Per Person is much better for the members in the business.
Right now is one of those times. In my area, Phoenix, the market is on fire – with some months being record breaking months (December and February, for example). Prices are at the very bottom – that is what is driving the buying frenzy – but the local media, quoting always behind the times local economists, are still pushing the “doom and gloom, things are awful” line. So both agents and the public tend to believe things are awful – when just the opposite is true.
Your takeaway
- NAR does a lot of things wrong.
- They do a lot of things right.
- They do a lot of things that don’t matter much.
An annual dues increase of $40 would be in that last category – as far as membership retention goes. How they spend that money and how effective that winds up being with regard to accomplishing the intended objectives will determine if the results are in category 1 or 2. You’re welcome.
Update: AG Report evaluates member sentiment on the dues hike, click here to see the results.
