Further Proof that NAR is Out of Touch
Thanks to InmanBlog, I learn that there is an ethical dilemma brewing in RE.net. It appears that NAR has promulgated a new standard
This standard falls under Article 12 in the Realtor code, which provides that Realtors “shall be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations.” (See Inman News article.)
A case example for this new standard, provided by the National Association of Realtors in its 2008 Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual, found that a Realtor who operated a real estate site named “northwoodsandlakesmls.com” was in violation of the code and standards because “a real estate-related URL that included the letters MLS would lead reasonable consumers to conclude that the Web site would be an MLS’s, and not a broker’s Web site.”
The matter is up for local hearing panels to consider, in the event ethics complaints are filed against Realtors who operate sites with the word “MLS” in them or who are otherwise accused of using a misleading Web address.
This is tantamount to the Ford Motor Company prohibiting its dealers using a name like “Joe’s Horse and Carriage”.
With very few exceptions, MLS websites routinely suck. Not just as “Web 2.0″ sites, but as websites, period. Here’s NJ MLS for example. Awful site — great people they may be over there at NJ MLS, but I think they know that their consumer site is plain old bad. Even large, powerful MLS organizations like MRIS have public websites like this. It’s not teh good. I mean, how many clicks before I actually get to see a listing?
In this day and age, is NAR truly concerned that some broker is going to gain an marketing advantage by including the words “MLS” in its name or URL? As a marketer, I do believe I would have to advise my clients not to use those letters if at all possible. In fact, if I could figure out a way to have my client’s competitors use “MLS” in their name or URL, while my client’s site remains blissfully free of the taint, that would be wonderful.
NAR needs to get with the program. Recognize what’s important in todays so-called “Web 2.0″ world, and focus on those. Might I recommend that NAR begin with (a) understanding the Realtor brand, where it is, and how to improve it; (b) understanding the consumer’s mindset in a far stronger, clearer way, to provide guidance to its members; and (c) working on removing barriers to open and honest conversation between agents and consumers — for example, some of the overreaching provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
-rsh
Talking about the NAR being out of touch. As you say…
“…understanding the consumer’s mindset in a far stronger, clearer way, to provide guidance to its members; ”
The problem with the NAR…. it’s not just out of touch with the consumer, is out of touch with itself.
If I remember the stats correctly according to the NAR 07 Home Buyers Survey, something like 53% of people surveyed the primary reason for buying a home was because they wanted a “home”, a place to put down their roots for their family, stability etc.
Yet, in this time when the national median sale price has declined 4.5% and everyone who looked at real estate as a great investment and tried to flip houses are getting their clocks cleaned… the NAR spends millions on a national advertising campaign talks about real estate is more than a “home”, it’s a great investment that usually doubles every 10 years – http://www.realtor.org/pac.nsf/pages/HomeValues ?
Maybe the message got reversed between the NAR and the advertising agency and they really meant… Real estate is more than an investment… it’s a place you call home?
One thing is for sure.. they didn’t read their own surveys. If half of your target consumers are telling you they are buying homes because they want to plant roots and provide stability for their family…
I would suspect that you would want to do a national advertising campaign that would reinforce what they are already telling you. I’m I missing something?
P.s. Just want to say you are putting out some great posts that everyone needs to read.
Thanks, Jessie.
You know what I would find enormously challenging? Getting the NAR account at some ad agency. Joseph, Mary and Jesus!
I completely agree that NAR’s ads of late have transcended bad into pure comedy. I particularly loved the campaign that was all about how Realtors are trustworthy, right after (I think it was Pew Research?) a major survey comes out showing that real estate agents rank among the bottom of the professions in terms of trust. I do believe even politicians outranked realtors.
NAR behaves at times like Baghdad Bob.
The good news, I think, is that the members of NAR — all of the agents themselves — don’t buy the BS that NAR is putting out. So eventually, there will be a change. And the industry isn’t going away anytime soon, so it will evolve and adapt.
I personally think NAR could do a LOT worse than hiring someone like Dustin Luther as their Chief Marketing Officer.
-rsh
I agree that many of the agents are no longer drinking NAR kool aid as evidenced by Jay Thompson and his NAR wisdom blog. I 100% agree the industry is not going away and it is evolving and adapting quickly and the current markets and consumers seeking transparent communication will only accelerate that change.
As for Dustin, yes, he has an excellent grasp of what consumers are looking for and what agents are attempting to do. I think he has one of the most balanced point of views in the re.net.
>NAR behaves at times like Baghdad Bob.
Just a bit over the top there, don’t you think? Baghdad Bob would’ve had to deal with Saddam if he didn’t push the propoganda. NAR doesn’t have a gun to its head – so they have no excuse. I think you owe Bob an apology.
LOL, Bob.
Do I sense a bit of… frustration with NAR? 
-rsh
I Think you should take a second and review this presentation
http://www.crt.realtors.org/cms/files/expose-yourself.ppt.pdf
Wow! Thanks everyone for the compliments on this thread. A job at NAR sounds painful, but… oh… so interesting.
In terms of Jason’s last link, I know the guys at NAR’s CRT well and I’ve always been impressed with how much they “get it”. However, as you’re getting at in this post… Technology is not the make-or-break issue for NAR. To remain relevant they’ll need to figure out how to create messages that resonate and connect with consumers (and not just their realtor base!) in a very interactive world.
Just so, Dustin. I don’t know the guys at CRT, but I’m sure they’re very smart and they get it. But as you say, it ain’t about technology. You can have the best technology in the world, but have your policy group pass rules like, “Don’t use MLS in your URL”. That’s some serious cognitive dissonance going on.
The key — absolute KEY — question for NAR is: What is the value you are delivering to your members, if not the brand name?
Followup question is: If your brand name is setting records for suckitude, does anything else matter?
That Harris poll says real estate agents are below lawyers, union leaders, actors, and horror of horrors, CONGRESSCRITTERS in prestige.
May I once again suggest that this might not be the time for NAR to be focusing on whether realtor websites do or don’t use the letters M-L-S in the URL?
-rsh
Rob; Reading your blog about the case study relating to article 12 , you seem to be missing the point of the case study. As you point out, Article 12 relates to the obligation of a REALTOR to present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations. Since the term MLS ,in the mind of many consumers represents an professional repository of listing information which is not related to specific real estate practitioners, luring someone to a site which is a place for a specific real estate practioner to obtain personal information from the consumer is in the mind of many people (myself included) a practice that is inappropriate- The issue here is not about any marketing advantage, its about the need to be forthright and transparent in communications with the public. To go with your auto industry analogy, a consumer that expects to find an “impartial” site like Edmonds Blue Book, shouldn’t find themselves on a ford or chevy website because someone tried to get slick with the URL- That’s decepetive marketing, and not an ethical practice.
Marketing isn’t about misrepresentation, its about positioning a product or service for delivery to the marketplace, and properly done, doesn’t need to rely on misdirection . In fact, this case study should rate a big shout out from you since it helps NAR’s members do exactly what you suggest when you say they should be “working on removing barriers to open and honest conversation between agents and consumers ” – That’s exactly the purpose of this case study.
And as far as the overreaching
Finally, with all due respect to your experience in marketing and in the world of technology and electronic communciation, the members of NAR who comprise the officers, chairpeople and committees, are real estate professionals who work with consumers every day. They aren’t the enemy of the members, they are the advocates of the real estate professional, and through the Code of Ethics, advocates for the consumer as well. I would respectfully suggest that until you work with and meet with real estate consumers on a regular basis, day and day out, helping them to buy and sell homes its a little presumptuous to assume you have a clearer idea of their wants and needs then the people who do.
Dear Bill -
First of all, thank you for your comments. Even if I come in for a bit o’ the old drubbing, I appreciate insightful disagreement and discussion.
Secondly, while I don’t disagree with your characterization of Article 12, there are three issues here.
One, the notion that putting “MLS” into your URL is deceptive marketing depends on the assumption that consumers think of MLS as being somehow free from the taint of marketing. I think you know as well as I do that such is simply not the case. The MLS is not an objective repository of listings/house data — it’s a marketing vehicle, used by RE professionals to market to other RE professionals. I know of no consumer (even assuming they know what an MLS is) who believes that data they find on an MLS is “true and objective” while the data they get on a broker website is “filled with marketing fluff”.
The auto industry analogy breaks down precisely at this point. Edmunds is run by a private third party company that conducts its own reviews, its own factfinding, and describes the vehicles objectively. If there were such an organization within RE, that would change things, and Article 12 would apply with full force. The MLS is not that organization.
Two, my point was that MLS websites in general are singularly bad from a user experience standpoint. Some exceptions exist — HAR.com comes to mind — but generally speaking, every major brokerage site I have seen beats the living daylights out of any public-facing MLS site. So why any broker would want to associate his brand and his website with the uniformly horrid “MLS” web experience is beyond me.
Three, if we assume that Article 12 means what you believe it says — that Realtors need to be transparent and forthright in communication and present a true picture — then I submit to you that there are far, far bigger fish to fry than websites with the three forbidden letters in them. That the RE industry suffers from a general perception of lack of candor cannot be debated. That we have a looong way to go before earning the consumer’s trust is indisputable. If Realtors were allowed to speak frankly about dangerous neighborhoods, crummy schools, and flaws in the house itself, that is the transparency, forthrightness, and truthfulness that they need. I submit that going after websites with “MLS” in the URL is just about at the bottom of the list of things NAR needs to do to advance forthrightness, truthfulness, and transparency.
Finally, with respect to your personal criticism, I wholeheartedly and without reservation embrace it.
I’m not a broker. Not a realtor. Never have been, and never want to represent myself as one. That I am presumptuous in a blog post is something I am fully willing to concede. You are surely correct that the members of NAR are not the enemy of the members. I do not go so far as to presume bad faith on their part.
However, I disagree that only people who have done real estate brokerage know what the industry needs. In fact, I would propose that those who are experts, those who are in the daily grind of a business, often are the last to see what is obvious to an outsider.
My expertise is in marketing, branding, and technology. What I see is a Realtor brand that is at the very bottom of the barrel in terms of respect in the eyes of the consumer. What I see is a NAR whose leadership may have the best interests of the members at heart, but cannot see the forest for the trees. What I see is an organization obsessed with the minutiae — such as websites with MLS in the ULR — that it can’t see the very real damage that its rules for controlling information and its inability to force true professionalism on its members are doing to the Realtor brand.
I would actually submit that if you were to round up some of the leading bloggers on the subject of Web 2.0 or interactive marketing and convened a frank and open roundtable discussion on the state of the Realtor brand and what needs to be done by NAR to help bring this industry into the 21st century, you would gain some incredible insights from people who have never made a single listings presentation or showed a house to buyers.
Respectfully,
-rsh