NAR Midyear Meetings Report
May 11 – 15, 2009
Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C.
Beth Pressler, 2009 NAR/MAR Director
My first day as a NAR Director in Washington, D.C. was terrific! (Actually so was Day 2, 3, 4 and 5!)
Day 1: We were treated to a Legislative & Political Forum with Former Representative Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) and Patrick J. Buchanan. They focused, in a most entertaining way, on the status of Washington’s response to the economic crisis, with perspectives from both sides of the aisle.
Next was probably the most interesting, diverse and informative symposium I’ve heard in my 12 years of attending these meetings: “The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy” was a whole day event that comprised of a morning and an afternoon panel, the Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Dr. Robert Reich; U.S. Secretary of HUD, Shaun Donovan; Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Dr. Alan Greenspan and Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance, Sheila Bair presented 59 ½ Minutes.
The morning panel was moderated by CNBC Analyst Ron Insana. Panelists included Housing Studies experts, Political/Economic Professors, Media Reporters, President/CEO National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Professor of Financial Management, EVP Center for American Progress and a REALTOR/President to name some of the panelists.
The afternoon session was moderated by Newsweek Contributing Editor, Jane Bryant Quinn. These panelists included a Mortgage EVP, President of the Center for Responsible Lending, real estate anchors and writers, President/CEO of the Nat’l Assoc. of Home Builders, CEO of International Council of Shopping Centers, a Professor of Political Economy, Pres. and CEO of Nat’l Assoc. of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.
Wow…tremendous firepower on these panels! The collection knowledge, their contributions to the discussions on the changing face of the economy and housing issues was stellar.
There were several seats reserved for the media to report on the happenings that day.
Secretary of HUD, Shaun Donovan’s comments especially about the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit turning into a down payment assistance program, (stay tuned for details on that one), the optimism, the brutal reality of our economics, the regional differences in the marketplaces, the collapse of banks and the understaffing of the surviving ones, the access to capital for minorities (or lack thereof), the slowing of housing starts across the country…These were but a taste of the panelist’s comments. “Capitalism without failure is like Religion without sin”.
And this was just Day 1!!
Day 2 brought about my new NAR Director Orientation: there are 957 Directors to represent the 1,114,000 NAR members representing the largest Trade Association in the country. We have over 400 staffers at NAR, the Voice of Real Estate. President Charles McMillan, from Irving, Texas, stopped by and reminded us that, “we serve the members with a lack of selfishness”.
Michigan and Ohio comprise Region 6, at which we discussed those items to be brought forth to the Directors. The 2010 Operating and Capital Budgets, the Appraisal Regulatory Policy, Amendments to Bylaws, Amendment to the Code of Ethics and the creation of the REALTORS® Federal Credit Union.
I currently sit on the Membership Policy & Board Jurisdiction Committee, where a separate hearing the day before our committee met, concluded that a Board name change was appropriately granted.
RISMedia always puts on a wonderful panel at these meetings. This year was “The Power Broker – Maximizing Distressed Property Business.” The panel, moderated by Allan Dalton, explored the world of foreclosures and short sales. The special type of agent needed to specialize in this kind of properties and how distressed sellers need a trusted resource…the REALTOR! Salespeople need to remember to keep their Brokers in the loop of these transactions; agents need specialized training to work in this realm and the real big need to shore up the timeline on foreclosure and short sales coming to the closing table.
The meetings culminated with the Board of Directors meeting Saturday morning. We came, we listened, we weighed the pros/cons of the issues, we voted.
It was a good week in Washington, D.C. I’m very proud to have been one of the 957 Directors making decisions that will affect us all.
