The core mission of the National Association of REALTORS® is to help our members become more profitable and successful. With this goal in mind, NAR focused on several projects throughout 2018 aimed at furthering the services and resources we provide to you—our commercial members.
Since the start of the year, a group of your peers has been actively working in collaboration with NAR staff as part of a Presidential Advisory Group (PAG), focused on finding solutions to improve your options for obtaining commercial real estate data and a platform to market your commercial property listings nationwide. Their diligent and comprehensive work resulted in several actions to help you in your business, including a new Commercial Data & Listings Resource Guide offering a range of member discounts.
The search for a new national commercial listing platform was a major enterprise under the PAG’s purview. From the start, the vetting of vendor companies has been completely member driven with early assessments focused on technology, ability to scale and grow, funding, and customer service. Demos and user testing conducted during the 2017 REALTORS® Conference & Expo also provided valuable member feedback. With your help, we’ve made substantial progress over the last 12 months — we anticipate being able to announce the vendor and launch the new national commercial listing platform soon. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
As 2018 winds down, I want to thank you for your involvement at the national level. In addition to the PAG’s important contributions, NAR had significant advocacy wins this year with the extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, as well as with the preservation of the 1031 Like-Kind Exchange included in the tax reform bill passed at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, in August, Treasury and IRS issued favorable rules allowing real estate agents and brokers to be fully eligible for the new 20% pass-through deduction – no matter what their income level. This is great news, especially for brokers! NAR’s advocacy successes wouldn’t have happened without you. Thank you to all those who responded to NAR’s Calls for Action.
It’s been an honor to serve as your 2018 NAR President. With your continued involvement, I see a bright future ahead for our industry and association.
REALTORS® Own It!
Elizabeth Mendenhall
2018 President
National Association of REALTORS®