2020 Showed REALTOR? Resilience

Buying a good, solid home that provides safety and security requires planning, resources, and the sturdy foundation gained by working with a REALTOR?. At the National Association of REALTORS?, we work hard to ensure that our members also have the resources and the solid foundation they need to be successful in their businesses. During 2020, that support was more important than ever before. 

When COVID-19 hit, it was impossible to know exactly what impact the contagion would have on our members, our communities, and our economy. Our resolve was tested further with the racial unrest and volatility of the 2020 elections.

The role of NAR is not to be all-knowing but to prepare REALTORS? to weather the unpredictable so that they can remain productive in their businesses and their communities. 

To that end, I am extremely proud of the work done this year by our Leadership Team and our NAR staff. Working collaboratively with our state and local associations, NAR has supported our members by ensuring their voices were heard by policymakers and providing them with the tools to continue to run their businesses, while adjusting to a changing market that includes a new work-and-shop-from-home lifestyle.

Major Advocacy Wins

Throughout the pandemic, NAR’s Advocacy team has used their close connections in Washington to score some major wins to help our members as well as property owners around the country. The team worked tirelessly on the most recent COVID-19 relief package signed into law, which includes rental assistance, a fresh round of funding and simplified forgiveness for SBA loans, and more direct payments to Americans. I’m also especially proud that in the very early weeks of the pandemic, NAR’s Advocacy team worked in collaboration with our state and local associations to ensure real estate was deemed an essential service in every state. That designation underscored how critical real estate is to our national economy and led the way towards a year of impactful advocacy wins. 

Moving Forward In Technology

Among NAR’s biggest successes this year are the technology solutions we began helping develop years ago that have allowed our members to stay one step ahead of the societal changes demanded by the pandemic. This past year, we increased our investment in technology through our venture capital arm, Second Century Ventures, and through global expansion of the award-winning REACH technology accelerator. Through SCV and REACH, we carefully select new technology companies with the highest potential to advance the industry now and well into the future. We select technologies from around the globe for all aspects of real estate to give REALTORS? an advantage in their work. To date, REACH has provided mentoring and exposure to more than 100 start-up companies.  Two of our earliest investments, DocuSign and remote online notary, Notarize, are examples of NAR’s decades long investment in the digital transformation of real estate, proven even more critical by the pandemic. Other REACH companies, like Earnnest, BoxBrownie.com and Updater have helped REALTORS? keep their businesses moving through evolving pandemic requirements with digital escrow fund transfers, virtual staging tools and technology driven moving services. REALTOR Benefits? Program partners were also critical in providing our members with value-added offers and significant savings on essential business tools like marketing resources, office supplies and transaction management. In one year alone, 800,000 REALTORS? saved $74M on products and services from the REALTOR Benefits? Program.

Critical Resources to Support Our Members

Because supporting REALTORS?’ business success is our No. 1 priority, NAR also made the decision to launch the Right Tools, Right Now program.  This robust initiative has given REALTORS? access to more than 400 online tools free of charge or at a reduced cost. Right Tools, Right Now has saved our members more than $26 million during a time when they needed it most.  As part of the initiative, we’ve also ensured our members had access to critical telemedicine services during the pandemic. To date, more than 33,000 REALTORS? and their families have signed on to participate in our Members TeleHealth program. 

Remaining a Vital Part of Communities

REALTORS? have always been the bedrock of our nation. Real estate makes up more than a quarter of the American economy, and our members are serving as leaders in communities across the country. I’m proud that even as REALTORS? faced incredible challenges running their businesses in 2020, their spirit of community, of continuing to be good neighbors, continued.  In the face of COVID-19 restrictions, more than two-thirds of REALTORS ? volunteered in their communities in 2020. Meanwhile, the average value of REALTOR? association donations to local causes doubled from $5,000 in 2018 to $10,000 in 2020.

Because REALTORS? have such a deep impact on the communities they serve, NAR has worked over the past year, and will continue to work, to ensure our members understand and uphold their obligations under federal, state, and local fair housing laws. We’re also proactively advocating for solutions to guarantee that everyone – regardless of race, age, or any other differentiator – has the ability to participate fully in the real estate market. To that end, we’ve created programs to help REALTORS? support their communities and address the needs of underserved residents. NAR’s Fair Housing plan, called ACT!, includes training for members to help them identify and self-correct any behaviors that would inadvertently marginalize someone.  

This year’s unpredictable turmoil gave NAR and our members the opportunity to test the strength of our planning, the effectiveness of our tools, and the sturdiness of our foundation. This time of reflection and reinvention has made us even better prepared for what lies ahead in 2021. Our REALTOR? Family remains resilient and focused toward the greater good of our communities and our nation. 

As the CEO of the world’s largest trade association, I look forward to what we will accomplish in 2021.