In the Winter 2014 issue, examine, engage, and increase professionalism for yourself--and your members.
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In This Issue
For the past 100 years, the Code of Ethics has remained a reliable guide for REALTOR® professionalism—and overall, REALTORS® do a good job of following it, say association executives, professional standards administrators, and trainers around the country. But what can be done to maintain or improve professionalism moving forward into the Code’s second century?
Higher education is one way REALTORS® are developing the skill sets to meet greater customer demands for professionalism in the industry, says William Hardin III, director of the Hollo School of Real Estate at Florida International University.
More than 50 percent of the AEs in our professionalism survey said heightened education requirements to obtain or retain a real estate license would be the best way to boost professionalism. Several state REALTOR® associations are now working with their legislatures to change licensing requirements with this goal in mind.
Are our members better prepared to represent their clients? Are our efforts being rewarded with lowered risk, fewer claims, or better insurance rates for our members? What would the landscape look like if we didn’t engage our members in professionalism awareness?
In a world where a growing number of voices on a growing number of platforms are speaking on real estate topics, the National Association of REALTORS® is developing new ways to communicate to REALTORS® and consumers that the REALTOR® organization—at the national, state, and local level—is the leading advocate for the real estate industry and the nation’s 75 million property owners.
Getting REALTOR® champions—politicians in tune with the REALTOR® organization’s views—elected to public office has long been a priority. Since the laws governing campaign contributions were relaxed in 2010, more advocacy organizations have entered the arena with huge amounts of money for federal candidates. In response, REALTORS® have stepped up their efforts and engaged in nearly 500 state and local campaigns in the past two years.
Who will claim the ratings space and how agents will be rated are questions associations, brokers, and agents will continue to ask themselves.
Especially in small associations, where REALTORS® know one another, their families, and their dogs (the one who dug up the neighbor’s flower beds), one’s professional reputation is very important. In tight-knit communities where it’s hard to sweep anything under the rug, professionalism can flourish or it can falter.
By now pocket listings are a concept most real estate professionals are familiar with, and in some circles they have become something of a dirty word. Lower inventory has created a surge in pocket listings, especially in markets such as Northern California, where as much as 30 percent of all listings are believed to be pocket listings.
When REALTOR® AE magazine asked Steve Harding, CEO of the Tennessee Association of REALTORS®, what he thought had led him to receive the 2013 William R. Magel Award of Excellence, he recalled the inspiring guidance given to him many years ago by Magel himself.
