ShareRecently, a wave of disruption within the commercial real estate industry impacted thousands of NAR members across the country. Xceligent™’s researched property data was no longer accessible, and the CommercialSearch.com listing platform ceased operations. Additionally, some local commercial information exchanges (CIEs) shut down.
NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall appointed a Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) on the Future of Commercial Real Estate Data. Appointing members from across the country and commercial disciplines demonstrated NAR’s desire to play an active role in the ever-changing landscape of commercial technology and data use. Since late December, the PAG has met by conference call three times to prioritize needs and put forth recommendations for action.
As of early February, three recommendations have already been acted on:
A brief data survey was sent January 9 to NAR’s 80,000 commercial members. While the results show 49% of members cite a commercial listing platform as a primary need, there’s no indication one solution fits all. Members use a variety of platforms including local CIEs, CoStar and the Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) to access property data.
NAR gave free RPR® access to all Institute Affiliate (IA) members for the remainder of 2018. An IA member holds a designation from one of the five commercial Institutes, Societies and Councils in the NAR family (CCIM Institute, Counselors of Real Estate, Institute of Real Estate Management®, REALTORS® Land Institute, and Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®) but doesn’t hold REALTOR® status.
A new resource page was created on NAR’s member website, NAR.REALTOR, containing a list of viable vendors, tools, and other commercial data and listing resources so members know the many options existing in the market. Survey feedback pinpointed the initial group of companies that members use and they were added to the Resource Page. Four of those companies negotiated NAR member discounts or other special offers.
The new webpage, www.nar.realtor/commercial/technology-and-data was launched Feb. 1 and is expected to continue to grow as more companies sign on.
NAR will continue to look for opportunities to ensure all commercial members are aware of and have access to the tools needed to conduct business. Keep an eye on your monthly e-newsletter, Commercial Digest, for continuing developments.