A Clear Direction for Navigating Change in 2020

Fresh off Election Day, it was great to see nearly 20,000 people attending the 2019 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco. With a new Leadership Team in place, we can’t think of a better place to get started on the hard work ahead of us. San Francisco is a city at the center of a technological revolution that is changing the way we live, work, and play. Our industry is no exception. We are witnesses to a massive shift in the real estate field in today’s consumer-driven, on-demand economy. Of course, we already know this! We also know that change and opportunity walk hand-in-hand. In the 1990s, technology companies were pouring millions into real estate while REALTORS® relied on printed listings with black-and-white photos. Today’s listings are in the cloud, and you can pull them up on your phone. In the 2000s, when big banks threatened to create an anti-consumer, anti-competitive industry, REALTORS fought and won in 2009 when Congress passed a law preventing big banks from engaging in real estate brokerage. Of course we know how to manage change. Our business is change. You’ve changed the lives of the families you helped buy their first home, or the entrepreneur their first business. You’ve changed your communities through your generosity because REALTORS® reinvest in our neighborhoods. We know that giving enriches the giver as well as the recipient. Times are changing—and opportunity is knocking. Now is the right time to focus on our industry and the communities we serve. From rent control and short-term rentals to housing supply and affordability, the issues facing our industry are unprecedented. By forging a new contract between NAR, REALTORS® , and our industry, I believe we can realized unprecedented success for ourselves as business owners, the communities where we work and live, and homeowners. We invite you to review our 2020 priorities to get a better understanding of our strategic focus. You’ll be hearing a lot of the two specifically related to advocacy: Collaborating for positive impacts on housing equality and affordability and driving community development. The changing times may change the way we do our work. But nothing can change one crucial element—the human element—that only REALTORS® can provide. In the coming week, we’ll gather with state presidents, association executives, government affairs directors, and committee chairs and members at the REALTOR Party Training Conference in Austin, Texas, to further discuss the REALTOR® Party and advocacy objectives for success in 2020 during an intensive two days. We look forward to providing you an update and working together to inspire you to find your own story to tell and to help show the world “That’s Who We R.”