Dr. Lawrence Yun, Call Your Office

A mere six days ago, NAR’s Chief Economist (and my doppelganger) Lawrence Yun released this cheery video forecast on housing for the remainder of the year: Lawrence is predicting a slight pickup for 2011 over 2010; he thinks the second half of this year will be better than the second half of last year. New … Read more

NAR Should Clarify RPPI Distribution Scheme

In the aftermath of the vote on REALTOR Party Political Survival Initiative (RPPI), NAR has released a document showing where the funds will be going (PDF). I’m not entirely sure what some of the terms mean. For example, what does “Campaign Services” cover? What is the difference between “Issue Mobilization Program” and “Issue Coordinated Campaigns”? … Read more

Midyear Report: Reflections on RPPI #2 – Impact & Next Steps

This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: Now that the RPPI (formerly known as RPPSI) has been approved by the NAR Board of Directors… what is the actual impact? Passing the thing was just the first step. The absolutely critical work of implementing whatever programs … Read more

Midyear Report: Reflections on RPPI #2 – Impact & Next Steps

This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: Now that the RPPI (formerly known as RPPSI) has been approved by the NAR Board of Directors… what is the actual impact? Passing the thing was just the first step. The absolutely critical work of implementing whatever programs … Read more

Midyear Report: Reflections on REALTOR Party Political Initiative, Part 1 – Wartime NAR

This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: Thanks again to Zillow for sponsoring the series. I walked around one full day at Midyear with a Zillow shirt, as promised in my Ebay sponsorship listing. Got more than a couple of comments as a result, ranging … Read more

Midyear Report: First Take on Board of Directors Votes

This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: The historic meeting of NAR’s Board of Directors is now over. I had the privilege of being able to listen in as a member of the “press” — which the blogosphere and RE.net can actually be. I hope … Read more

A TED Talk, and an Experiment

I’ve watched the above video three times now. It’s Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker who made a number of documentaries, the most widely known of which is Supersize Me, talking about his new project: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. It’s a look at the world of sponsorship, branding, and advertising. Watch the whole video. The TED … Read more

Why NAR Is Not Likely to Win the QRM Battle

I have to imagine, given the focused readership this blog has, that most of you already know that NAR has been fighting a war against homeownership on multiple fronts in recent months. I’ve been doing the Chicken Little dance about these Federal issues for quite some time, after all. One of those fronts is the … Read more

Realty Alliance, Franchise IDX, and Future of NAR

Earlier today, I was interviewed by Matt Carter of Inman News, who wrote a story about Realty Alliance sending a formal letter to NAR asking that the MLS Committee repeal the rule allowing franchisors to display IDX. It’s a good breaking news story on a potentially important topic. Read it in full. I was quoted … Read more