The National Association of Realtors has many ways that it gathers important data for its members. It has a great research department, an official Web site Realtor.com, and an award-winning publication, Realtor Magazine Online. In addition, the NAR appoints subcommittees that look into key issues that affect the real estate industry. Between these four resources and others, the NAR supplies its members with a vast amount of data, but how much of it helps Realtors make or keep more money?

As the sum of its parts, the NAR focuses on the big picture, supplying key economic data. It is to be commended for features such as its monthly analysis of comprehensive economic indicators found in the Data Bank. While these data points are useful to know, they don't necessarily or immediately affect Realtors' pocketbooks.

Why pick on the NAR? I'm not. The organization does a great job gathering information for members. I'm merely suggesting that the NAR look at member and affiliate profitability for its research ideas. There are other topics which are suitable for research that may have a more dramatic impact on Realtors' daily lives. In other words, the data bank could have some data blanks.

For example, the NAR has published its Internet Data Display Policy, with a directive to local MLS organizations to have a Broker Reciprocity solution in place by January 2001. This initiative could impact what MLSs, brokers and agents are going to spend over the next year, possibly from the thousands into the millions of dollars.

Already it is coming to light that some MLS organizations are finding the high costs of implementing the NAR's policy prohibitive. According to Jerry Matthews, vice president of operations for the Florida Association of Realtors, many MLS members complained to the state board that they not only don't have a solution, but won't have one by the NAR's deadline. Steve Ozonian, president of Realtor.com told Agent News that Realtor.com will provide a Broker Reciprocity solution for real estate organizations by mid-year. He also said that he felt it was likely that the number of MLSs who would not be compliant by the deadline may force the NAR to offer an extension. Some MLSs are unable to forward a solution because they don't have a clear understanding of the possible competitive risks, legal risks, as well as technology costs.

Wouldn't a study examining the possible risks and solutions for local boards, brokers and agents be useful? Such a study could extend to other complex issues surrounding the implementation of Broker Reciprocity, such as how the members should be best approached. Will the number of listings available to board members be higher or lower if brokers are allowed to opt in or out? According to one broker whose MLS has already implemented a broker reciprocity solution, the board's decision to allow brokers to opt in rather than opt out has reduced the number of listings available to all members significantly, leaving their sites more open to competition from national aggregators. Will some brokers opt out and share data among themselves, giving them a competitive advantage over smaller, less powerful brokers? How will rules of integrity be established and what enforcement will members need? Will national aggregators be able to access MLS databases more easily, without paying members for their data?

These are just a few of the questions that suggest that an examination of the competitive issues and attitudes of local brokers about Broker Reciprocity might also be useful. A complete study could also examine possible costs to the MLS, the broker and to the individual agent who wants to put MLS listings on a personal Web site(s.)

While the NAR's IDD Policy was announced to support brokers and agents in their Web strategies, and to neutralize some of the power of national aggregators, some of these issues simply could not have been anticipated. But as the problems and conflicts are beginning to surface, surely the urgency and importance of such a study is obvious. Not only would members benefit but so would the industry's service providers. Knowing the attitudes of brokers and agents can help application service providers tailor their products and pricing to better suit their target market.

Another issue is the timeliness of certain studies, some of which the NAR performs only every other year. While research regarding Realtors and the Internet, and the attitudes of buyers and sellers who have bought or sold homes are enormously helpful, the speed at which the Internet, fee compression, and other market factors are impacting the real estate industry urges that these studies be performed more often. Information such as how many buyers are using the Internet is quickly outdated, which may inadvertently cause brokers and agents to base strategic planning decisions on inaccurate information. Or, without being able to get updated information from the NAR, brokers and agents may have to get their information from other sources whose interests may be in conflict or competition with the NAR's.

For example, many brokers and agents are unaware that the number of first-time buyers using the Internet has skyrocketed to 82 percent, almost a fifty percent increase over the last two years. That is because this important data comes not from the NAR, but from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The MBAA also says that 66 percent of first-time homebuyers go to the Internet to seek information on homebuying, a key point if an agent or broker is trying to decide how much to invest in Internet marketing tools.

According to the latest research by the NAR, more than fifty percent of buyers are first-time homeowners, so 82 percent of half the homebuying market is going to the Internet to get information. Yet, less than one third of agents have a Web site presence, and only three out of five use e-mail. How will they be found by these buyers, and if found, how will they communicate?

How questions are phrased is also key to interpreting results. If members are relying on the latest NAR research that 37 percent of homebuyers "use the Internet," it is easy to understand why many agents feel little urgency to adopt and master Internet marketing technologies. Wouldn't it be more useful to know how many of these buyers visited the Internet before contacting a Realtor? In what order do most buyers seek information? Do they seek information to prepare for or to avoid talking with a Realtor? The answers to these questions could save Realtors thousands of dollars annually in marketing and operating costs if they know how to tailor their businesses to serve these buyers.

If the bottom line is used as a criteria for designing future studies, other topical issues can also be explored:

• Broker profitability New business models
• Buyer listings
• Agent attitudes toward transaction management
• Consultant VS Agent models
• Salaried VS commissioned agents
• The technology gap between agents and buyers
• Consumer attitudes toward Realtors
• Transaction coordinators: do they save brokerages money?
• An efficiency study of MLSs: How can they be improved?
• Distance learning solutions for licensure and renewals

The list could go on and on, but what these topics all have in common is that they revolve around immediate profitability issues for NAR affiliates and members. And that could be the big picture for the whole industry. If brokers and agents aren't profitable, they won't be around to support the NAR, or read its research.

Published: May 11, 2001

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.