NAR Advances Plan for Property Database

Posted by RealEstateRama

May 19, 2008

Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Board of Directors took a major strategic leap, authorizing the association to work with a technology company to create a broker-controlled national repository or “library” of property data that would provide members-only access to detailed information on all properties in the United States.

The repository, which NAR is calling a “digital library/archive,” would be revenue neutral but could eventually be fee-based to cover operating costs.

In a report preceding the vote, NAR CEO Dale Stinton emphasized that the repository will not be a national MLS. There will be no offers of cooperation or compensation, nor any attempt to create a national online marketplace for property listings. The database also will be accessible to REALTORS® only, with no consumer-facing components.

“A number of technology companies are actively working to aggregate property data and provide such information to consumers, with the potential of creating an ‘information gap’ between content available to consumers and reliable information available to REALTORS®,” according to a whitepaper prepared by NAR’s Leadership Team to explain the scope and importance of the project. “We want to…arm our members with the most comprehensive information imaginable, literally for every property in the U.S. In that way our members will remain in the preeminent position to serve their clients with the best information available for any property,” the paper reads.

Last year, the directors gave approval for start-up funding for the project. Now, the association and its technology partner are charged with delivering a “proof of concept” working model of the property library/archive as soon as possible, using one or more pilot locations around the country.

The proposal wasn’t without detractors, who expressed concern about the cost and operation of such a database. Stinton said waiting for a business plan and budget to be presented for board approval would almost certainly doom the idea, allowing competitors to get a leg up in establishing their own database. After a brief debate, the directors overwhelmingly passed the proposal.

Other Major Board Decisions

In a three-hour meeting, the board approved new policies on topics ranging from short sales to NAR election rules and officially elected the association’s 2009 officers. Here’s a recap of the board’s major decisions:

- Approved new model rules for MLSs that would enable practitioners to alert one another to potential short sales and put them on notice about the sharing of any reduction in gross listing commission required by a lender. MLSs are given the authority to decide whether or not their participants have to disclose reasonably-known short sales.

- Gave MLSs discretionary authority to enable participants to offer cooperative compensation through the MLS as a percentage of the net sale price. The net sale price is the gross price minus seller concessions and new-construction buyer upgrades.

- Approved a statement of principles on immigration, saying NAR will be involved in immigration issues as needed to support stable, prosperous, thriving, and secure communities and to enhance the United States as a destination of choice for those seeking to own, transact, lease, and use real property. Among the principles, the association supports the right of foreign citizens to acquire and own real estate, supports the free flow of international capital for real estate, and opposes laws that would impede that flow. The directors voted to support a federal resolution on securing borders to prevent illegal immigration while allowing for the flow of legal immigrants to accommodate the labor needs of the economy.

- Supported an increase in H-2B worker visas to ensure an adequate supply of foreign workers in the United States, particularly in resort areas, which are highly dependent on such workers.

- Supported voluntary, market-based solutions to address pollution and degradation of the country’s waterways, while supporting private property rights; said federal water resource policy should take into account traditional state, local, and private water rights and uses.

- Updated the association’s policy on federal transportation funding, setting aside specific policies in favor of a flexible policy accounting for changes in travel patterns, shrinking petroleum supplies, and continuing technological innovation.

- Clarified that NAR policy does not prohibit REALTOR® associations from establishing service centers in other association jurisdictions, nor does it prohibit associations from offering member recruitment dues incentives.

- Supported use of the FHA insurance program to help homeowners refinance out of unaffordable mortgage products, provided safeguards are in place to protect FHA goals and minimize taxpayer risk.

- Affirmed that the association seeks affordable health insurance coverage that preserves choice but opposed a single-payer system and any requirement that employers provide coverage to employees.

- Approved a series of changes to NAR policies and processes for nominating and electing NAR officers, among them, that the association will hold a candidate forum at its annual and midyear meetings and create venues for directors to learn about the candidates. Of roughly two dozen election reform recommendations, only two were defeated by the board: One would have required that when the Nominating Committee interviews more than one candidate and any interviewed candidate who was not nominated chooses to run through the petition process, the committee then must present to the board a rationale for its decision to nominate the chosen individual; the second would have required NAR candidates’ Web sites to include a section for voluntary disclosure of campaign receipts and disbursements. Several of the approved changes require amendments to the NAR Constitution so will come before the NAR Delegate Body at its November meeting.

- Provided $332,753 to fund two legal cases. One involves the constitutionality of a municipal requirement for a property inspection at the point of sale. The other involves treatment of exclusive agency listings by an MLS, including exclusion of such listings from the MLS data feed.

2009 Officers Elected

Directors elected the following NAR officers for 2009. They will be inaugurated at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., in November.

- Charles McMillan, CIPS, of Irving, Texas, president
- Vicki Cox Golder, CRB, of Tucson, Ariz., president-elect
- Ronald Phipps, CRS®, GRI, of Warwick, R.I., first vice president
- James Helsel Jr., CRE, CCIM, of Lemoyne, Pa., treasurer

By Robert Freedman and Stacey Moncrieff for REALTOR® magazine online

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