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Fall, 2022: Destination: Diversity
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AOR in Action

News and ideas from your peers.

October 26, 2022
Professional Development

Transforming Neighborhoods

Say a neighborhood gets new housing stock or recovers from a natural disaster. It attracts commerce and offers affordable options for its residents. The result is that our economy thrives.

So, what do you do when your area is experiencing just the opposite? Those challenging real estate problems are the focus of Transforming Neighborhoods, a grant program and partnership of the National Association of REALTORS® and The Counselors of Real Estate® Consulting Corps.

Transforming Neighborhoods House Illustration

Through the program, the Corps provides analysis, plans and actionable recommendations to help local and state associations—and the communities they serve—work through their most pressing real estate issues. Each engagement includes collaboration with key public and private stakeholders. The Corps is currently working with three grant winners:

  • Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® in Tennessee, focusing on creating a strategy to redevelop and revitalize Knoxville’s downtown waterfront, including production of more multifamily housing.
  • Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS® in Alabama, focusing on a corridor study addressing redevelopment opportunities, including housing, economic development, equity and sustainable growth.
  • Peoria Area Association of REALTORS® in Illinois, focusing on a study to determine redevelopment potential of distressed areas with an eye on housing and economic development.

Established in 1953, CRE®, an affiliate of NAR, is an international consortium of credentialed real estate problem solvers who provide expert advice on complex real property and land-related matters. As a public service initiative, the CRE® Consulting Corps works with municipalities, local REALTOR® associations, not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions and government entities.

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AExperience Fall 2022 Destination: Diversity issue cover

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Did You Know?

As a new REALTOR®, you don’t know what you don’t know. So, Sarah Scattini, 2022 local president for the large board of the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS® in Nevada, started to ask the question, “Did you know?”

“I wanted to help level up our industry standards and make people aware of best practices,” says Scattini, who developed a weekly Did You Know? video series covering local political candidate interviews, fair housing training, branding, post-closing duties, compliance regarding data accuracy and more.

As host, Scattini works with RSAR CEO April LaBrie, RCE, CAE, EPRO, and Executive Administrator Katie Fletcher to develop the scripts. She then shoots three or four segments at a time with a professional videographer who provides a teleprompter. “We keep them short and sweet, at most two minutes,” she says.

Videos are released in an e-newsletter on Mondays, posted on the RSAR site and shared on social media. “I always say, ‘If there’s something you want to know about, let’s talk about it,” says Scattini, who has also shared scripts and tips with other associations. “If I can help others get their points and information across, I’m happy to do it.”

Instagram Image of REALTOR® Sarah Scattini Filming Her Weekly Video 'Did You Know?'
Sarah Scattini and Guests chat every Monday about hot topics, FAQs, and more in her viral video series 'Did You Know?'!

Positive Posts

Ten thousand positive stories of REALTORS®— in just one day?

“I got the idea a long time ago,” says Missouri REALTORS®’ President John Mayfield. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we could have a million blog posts in one day to show how positive the real estate market is?”

So, when the National Association of REALTORS® encouraged attendees at 2021’s REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego to go home and tell their stories, Mayfield was all in.

"It's Your Story" blog post image with signature of John Mayfield, 2022 Missouri REALTORS® President

One million turned into a more realistic goal of 10,000 positive social media posts by REALTORS® in Missouri. Mayfield got board buy-in at the end of April and set June 1 as the target date. Member announcements went out in early May, mid- May, and the week and the day before the event. Mayfield also shared the event on NAR’s Hub, inviting other associations to join in. Members were given examples of what they could share on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok—“but what we wanted more than anything was for our members to just take the time to tell a story about a transaction that was successful for them and benefited buyers and sellers.”

Mayfield says with all the stories flooding in on June 1, it was difficult to keep an accurate count. But his association plans to hold the event again next year. “I was talking to someone who said that even if we didn’t reach 10,000 but we had 3,000 posts go out that day, that’s 3,000 positive stories that resonated through social media that those people’s friends and network wouldn’t have seen had we not tried it.”

Only a REALTOR®

Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie REALTORS® in Florida tracked 7 million impressions and more than 3 million entire video plays just two months after launching its first-ever consumer campaign, Only a REALTOR®. The time was right, says CEO Dionna Hall, RCE. Before launching the campaign, the association brought its ideas and creative strategies to the National Association of REALTORS® to ensure they dovetailed with the national “That’s Who We R” campaign. Orlando-based agency &Barr helped bring the vision to life. The result is 30-, 15-, 10- and six-second spots that showcase how REALTOR® expertise and adherence to a code of ethics help connect consumers to REALTORS® as trusted sources. According to Hall, members are sharing the spots and other resources on social media. “On the community level, we see local municipalities and key community-based players recognizing our association as the local voice of real estate in South Florida,” she says. “As we gather data, we are learning more about consumer behaviors and where major touch points are.”

Consumers, now more than ever, need to be reminded of the value of REALTORS®.
-Dionna Hall, RCE, Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie REALTORS® CEO

View the Only A REALTOR® Campaign

New DEI and Fair Housing Modules

The National Association of REALTORS® is offering self-study courses to satisfy the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Fair Housing requirements for Core Standards. You can earn one hour of Core Standards professional development credit per module—at no cost.

Learn more

Overhead view of a woman using a computer AOR in Action, AExperience, DEI/Fair Housing modules

© JGalione / E+ / Getty Images

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