The NAR, the Realtors Favorite Punching Bag- Hypocrite?

A lot of Realtors around the blogosphere love to beat up on NAR.  They call them out on their talking points and basically use them to bash NAR over the head.  I have no problem with that, but what it leaves me to wonder is why in the world do you pay your dues?  Further, if you hate real estate licensing so much, then why are you licensed?  If you hate what the industry has become, then why are you in it?  I’m sure your reply will be, “to change the system!” Yeah, okay.  I’m sure one out of ten buyers & sellers will believe you, but that leaves the rest of us who know differently.

The NAR is the world’s largest Association of Brokers in the free world.  Great; I guess you know who NAR really works for- the Broker.  Almost anyone that has ever had a real estate Broker knows that the Broker more than likely doesn’t care about you, much less even knows your name in most larger Brokerages.  So it is no wonder why many of you hate the NAR.  So why not just stand up and say it?  Because you’re a coward?  Because you are so amused by everything it says and does?  If that is the case, get a life- and we all know it has nothing to do with whether you’re a yellow-belly or not.  It’s all about protecting the career you’ve worked so hard to build.

I pay my Realtor dues not liking many things the local board passes down our way.  Why? Because right now, 1.3 Million Realtors face what equates to a hostile corporate takeover by large VC Corporations that could care less about transparency, customer service, Realtor commissions, web2.o, or Redfin for that matter- they only care about the money. They’re content on using Redfin for the disruption.  Whether or not Redfin succeeds as a model, they could care less- it’s the end result, the long-term goal… to ultimately control it (real estate).  They’re not content with a piece of the pie, they want the whole thing, and they want to eat it too. 

I pay my dues because I want to be a part of the 1.3 Million agents that will fight and win the corporate takeover.  This has nothing to do with whether or not I like NAR.  Honestly, before this all hit the CBS fan, I paid very little attention to NAR.  It may or may not have had its use in the past, but it does have relevance today.

So all of you who have chosen to distance yourself from, attack, or expose the NAR, you may want to give some thought to the fact that in effect you are kicking 1.3 million other agents in the proverbial face that are in this battle with you.  I know, I know, I’ll get some flames on this message, but let’s look at it this way- RE could use a lot of changing up, resorting, and deeper thought, but who would you prefer do that- Glenn Kelman? VC Corporations? Or… the 1.3 Million agents who operate independently via one voice- The NAR.  My suggestion- stop yelling at the NAR, and start yelling through it.  Start by yelling at your Broker, and if you are the broker, start yelling at your board.

We’ve allowed  VC corporations to set the tone and perception and the only way the perception will be changed is to properly use the most powerful tool in our arsenal- The NAR.  Not to change laws to limit competition, but to reach out to those that are soon to fall victim to the one thing consumers hate most in this world- BIG CORPORATIONS. 

I’m with you, not the NAR. It’s time we began using NAR to its fullest possible potential, it will either bend and flex or it will break but either way, the perception will be that Realtors did more than bitch, moan, and complain. They stood up and operated the industry in the way it was meant to be run- the way it was described when we were all lulled into paying our splits and dues- otherwise you risk sounding like a hypocrite.