The NAR Needs To Implement The Five Point Plan

As the National Association of REALTORS® points out, the most recent economic stimulus bill, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, was “a good first step towards stabilizing our nation’s economy.” 

If Congress considers a second economic stimulus bill this month, the NAR recommends some changes but leaves out a crucial step. This step is so important, the other measures won’t be effective without it. 

The NAR should be recommending an emergency summit of national lenders like Bank of America, HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the U.S. Treasury, and the Federal Reserve to work out new rules of engagement where all parties are cooperating, just like ordinary practitioners do using the regulations of state licensure, the codes of their associations, the MLS rules, and the Golden Rule.
 
I didn’t think of this idea first. I give full credit to Jeremy Conaway, CEO of Reconis, www.reconis.com, a real estate consultant who advises association executives on how to improve their operations. In a phone conversation, Conaway told me that what is wrong with the housing market and the economy can be attributed to a simple fact – the traffic lights are broken. 

“The only reason why the real estate industry is successful is that it has established rules,” says Conaway. “This enables the top agents as well as the mediocre agents to do business. Everybody knows how to get through the intersections of a transaction the same way.” 

But in a market where 30, 40, 50 percent of the homes are in some phase of distress or bank-owned, that means too many homes on the market that are being offered under a different set of rules, which don’t include cooperation. 

Blanche Evans is CEO of Evans Emedia, Inc. and publisher of The Evans Ezine. As an award-winning journalist, Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and twice recognized as one of the industry's most "Notables."