NAR or is it the Real Estate Agents Fault?

There is actually a really good blog post that was posted by Ryan Ward, a REALTOR in Atlanta Georgia titled "NAR to Blame for Third Party Real Estate Listing Websites" and has probably had the most attention I've ever seen on a Real Estate Webmasters blog. One such comment, posted by Jennifer Mackay, a REALTOR in Panama City Florida really brought new light to the subject.

Jennifer makes a great analysis --- "I feel the fault lies mostly with agents who have not and do not take an interest in the workings of not only their local boards, but the national association and the real estate industry as a whole not to mention their own websites."

I agree with this to some extent. It is the inability of individual real estate agents and real estate Brokers to understand what they are doing when they contribute to third party sites which is what gives the third party sites the ability to exist in the first place.

Is the NAR to blame for this? Indirectly, yes. I think all of us get our monthly REALTOR magazines and I really can't remember anything being in them that brings up the topic of internet advertising. (Yes... there are articles about creating websites, etc... but... I don't think I've ever seen an article concerning what an agent is really doing when they put one of those Cheesy "Top 100" banners on their homepage or a link to a third party real estate directory or a real estate listing site from the homepage of their website. How hard is it to find these? You can even find these on the homepage of some great real estate agents who have no idea what is really going on. It's not their fault... they just don't know better.)

Personally, and I've brought this up before, but the consumer should be educated about using localized websites actually maintained by real estate agents much like some of the agents involved in the post above. A consumer who does this will actually learn the personality of many of the agents who create original content (not the generic real estate information that can be found on a million other websites..) ----- a big PLUS on this is that these same REALTORS have a good idea of what marketing is all about --- great for listing homes for sale ---- and from doing their own research on local communities, they have a good understanding of current local market conditions --- great for home buyers.

This is much more beneficial to the consumer then just calling a real estate agent off of a sign, clicking a listing on a third party site or even going to a company site where the next new real estate agent on the list gets the consumers information. (Unfortunately, due to the above scenarios of real estate agents linking to third party sites, you may have to skip through some of the third party sites to get to individual real estate agents sites that may be coming up at the top of the search engine rankings for the real estate market you are in interested in.)

In my Search for Real Estate post I bring the subject up on what consumers are really getting when they fill out online forms from third party sites and third party real estate listing sites with commentary that the consumer interested in real estate should be seeking out a local real estate agent first and homes second. It's not too hard to figure out where the NAR is telling consumers to go to search for real estate..... and it's not the local REALTOR's site and for this specific reason it is the NAR's fault. Consumers have become more focused on searching homes online first then searching for individual real estate agents.  (Obviously, it's a little harder for individual real estate agents to advertise this in the Mass media then powerhouse third party sites with Million dollar advertising campaigns Ironically being funded by real estate agents in one form or another.)

It's no wonder that the results of a Harris 2006 Poll of the perception of 1020 adults surveyed ranked real estate agents at the bottom of a list of occupations with great prestige at only 6% and 32% answered real estate agents had Hardly any prestige at all. Perhaps this perception would change if consumers searched for real estate agents first.... and then the home. A good real estate agent website is going to have a MLS search on their personal site.... one that the consumer can click on after finding a real estate agents site that they like and not a site where their information is going to a real estate agent they know nothing about......(According to the NAR's 2006 Survey of Home buyers, 80% of consumers first used the internet to search for a home.... that 80% should be using the internet to first search for a local real estate agent.)

If an agent does not even have a personal website with unique content with information about the local area --- what does that tell you about the real estate agent on effectively marketing your home for sale or representing the consumer in getting the best price for your next home? A home that symbolizes where the consumers greatest memories have been or are going to be created, a home in an area where the consumers children's lives are going to be shaped and a home that should be an asset and not a money pit?  (Maybe the 6% on the Harris Poll mentioned above searched for the Real Estate Agent first and the home second.)

At a recent NAR forum concerning  Economic Issues and Residential Real Estate Business Trends, Lawrence Yun, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Senior Economist, emphasized that all real estate is local. "People in the market should be paying less attention to national numbers and headlines and more attention to their local market conditions."

In this day and age, he should also be emphasizing that the best place to go for this information is a local real estate agents website with local information. 

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