Yesterday, I saw an article in TIME magazine that every REALTOR® and consumer should read.
We’ve been working for months now to inform potential homebuyers that national headlines about the housing market are misleading, and it looks like TIME has gotten the message.
While it’s true that home prices have fallen in many cities, they are not the only factor determining how much it will cost the average person to buy a home. As the article, appropriately titled “Ignore the Headlines,” points out, since most people finance their home purchase, interest rates play a big role in what the typical home will cost now – and in the future. Even a small rise in mortgage rates could offset a notable decline in home prices.
Consumers need to know all the facts related to the home purchase and ultimate cost. If you are interested in becoming a homeowner, please visit www.housingmarketfacts.com for information on what you need to know, and then find a REALTOR® who can help explain what is happening in your local area.
This is just one example of how NAR’s media outreach is paying off. If you see other articles that “get the message,” we’d like to hear from you. – Dick Gaylord, 2008 NAR President
Recently, we have seen a nationwide epidemic of states and local governments attempting to raise extra revenue by enacting transfer taxes. With the economy and the housing market suffering in many areas of the country, I question the wisdom of any action that would further jeopardize fragile housing markets.
My home-state association continues to take a proactive stance in this debate for many years. In 2002, the AAR passed a $60 per member assessment to fund their Issues Mobilization Fund as a hedge against legislation that hurts homeowners throughout the state. To date, Arizona REALTORS have raised $11.5 million to help protect private property owners by launching their own ballot initiative to change their State constitution and ban any enactment of a real estate transfer tax at all levels of government.
Transfer taxes cause homeowners to lose equity. Common sense would dictate that you shouldn’t tax something at the same time you are trying to make it affordable. To stem the tide of states taking up the transfer tax, more REALTOR associations might want to consider duplicating the actions taken by Arizona REALTORS. If not us, then who will else will speak out against a tax that penalizes homeownership? Think about it.
The housing market got a BIG boost last week, when President Bush signed the economic stimulus package, with increases in the FHA and GSE loan limits.
Check out this special video edition of the NAR President’s Podcast, which I recorded in my home and sent to all members earlier today. It explains when the loan limits will take effect and what you can do to help pass GSE and FHA Reform. We have a lot to be excited about! Keep up the great work and please send us your thoughts on what else we can do to help strengthen the market. — Dick Gaylord, 2008 NAR President
I know that many Realtors have been asking NAR what we are doing to counter the negative news stories on the housing market.
I want everyone to know that we hear you and we are doing plenty. For starters, we have begun a “surround sound” strategy earlier this year that is designed to help state and local REALTOR associations generate positive news stories about the opportunities that exist in today’s housing market. You can see the toolkits that your associations have received at www.realtor.org/surroundsound to equip them with suggested messages, letters and tips for dealing with the news media.
NAR understands that news gets reported in the national media and trickles down to the local level. At times, consumers only hear about the national market and don’t get the facts about their local situation. We know that there are good stories in local markets and that is where being proactive and working with the media is helpful.
At the national level, NAR continues to take every opportunity to communicate good news about today’s market in every news release. Don’t forget that the television and radio ads that make up our Public Awareness Campaign also speak forcefully about the value of homeownership. With each written and spoken word, NAR speaks for real estate proudly and passionately. In all we do, we want buyers and sellers to understand the opportunities that exist in today’s market.
Charles McMillan
Yesterday, I spent my morning in Washington, D.C., where I participated in my second satellite media tour. From about 5:00 a.m. until noon, I spoke to TV stations in some of the most challenging markets across the county. These were tough interviews, but I think it’s important for NAR to reach as many consumers as possible.
Our messages are clear and compelling: homeownership is a great way to build wealth, there are tremendous social benefits to homeownership, and recent declines in home prices combined with low interest rates have made buying much more affordable. These short TV interviews are helping to broadcast the positive side of today’s housing market.
Every month, I also do an interview on XM Satellite Radio, where I spend a few minutes talking about the housing market and the benefits of homeownership. My next interview will run on February 18 and 25 and on March 17 and 24. If you don’t have an XM radio, you can also listen to my interviews on the President’s Report Page.
NAR’s Public Awareness Campaign also advertises heavily on TV and radio. Listen for our ads on NPR programs “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” and “Car Talk,” as well as the ABC radio network, ESPN Radio, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One. We’ll keep the broadcast going strong in 2008. In the meantime, tell us how you are helping to get our message out to your local markets. – Dick Gaylord, 2008 NAR President
As I travel across this country, I am struck by how, time and again, REALTORS® are leading the way by giving back to their communities.
I had the opportunity recently to attend an awards ceremony for a leading Coldwell Banker company and was so proud to see that, in addition to the awards for production and referrals, one of the most prestigious awards was for “Community Service.” Five people from the company were nominated for this award, and there were three winners. ALL of them went over and above the call of real estate duty to improve the lives and living conditions of folks in their communities.
Too often, the press paints a picture of agents who only are in this business to pad their pockets. I’m here to tell you that REALTORS® are the most giving bunch of people I have ever met. We live in the communities that we work in. We care about those communities and give back to them in untold numbers of hours and dollars. We put the “Real” in REALTOR®”! – Pat V. Combs, 2008 Immediate Past President.
While most of the country spent Super Tuesday focused on the Presidential primary, nearly 1,000 of NAR’s most politically active members were in our nation’s capital for our own version of Super Tuesday, discussing NAR’s public policy priorities for 2008.
For the second year in a row, we surveyed more than 60,000 members to find out what tops the list of key federal policy issues. While priorities do vary by region, the top ten include many familiar issues: the capital gains exclusion, mortgage interest deduction, abusive lending, keeping banks out of real estate, small business health plans, the credit crunch and raising the FHA loan limits.
We will use the survey and feedback we received from members at our public policy meetings in Washington to develop NAR’s 2008 advocacy agenda. Some issues require protection, others require new action, but you can rest assured that NAR will remain vigilant on all issues REALTORS® are facing.
In the meantime, I ask everyone to stay focused on our most pressing priority — passing the economic stimulus package with the increase in FHA and GSE loan limits. Congress is likely to vote on this bill next week, so if you haven’t responded to our call for action, please go to the REALTOR® Action Center now and send a letter to your Senator.
Politics is everyone’s business. We need every REALTOR® to get involved! — Dick Gaylord, 2008 NAR President
