Don’t shit where you eat
How it started…
President of Powerful Realtors Group Is Accused of Sexual Harassment
“Ms. Brevard, 51, was fired in September 2022 for failing to disclose her relationship with Mr. Parcell, according to the lawsuit she filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., in June.
She had worked at N.A.R. as what was called its “chief storyteller” and handled the group’s podcasts, videos and much of its marketing materials from 2019 to 2022. According to her complaint, she had a monthslong sexual relationship with Mr. Parcell. After she ended it, Mr. Parcell continued to press her with unwanted advances, saw to it that she was excluded from meetings and business trips and told her that he would have her fired, the lawsuit claimed”
Debra Kamin reporting for the New York Times
How’s it going…
NAR President Kenny Parcell resigns after NYT exposé
“The calls for Parcell’s resignation intensified over the weekend, as a growing number of industry leaders called on NAR to hold Parcell accountable for his actions. Anywhere Brands President and CEO Sue Yannaccone was one of the first high-ranking brokerage leaders to make a statement, with her Monday LinkedIn post garnering increasing attention throughout Monday afternoon.
“I was very disturbed to read The New York Times report on the brazen attitudes and alleged behaviors of leaders at the National Association of Realtors,” Yannaccone said. “Given our predominantly female industry, I am incredibly disappointed by the reporter’s allegations as NAR is supposed to be a guidepost for our industry.”
Marian McPherson reporting for Inman News
The Times article was a bit of a head scratcher for me. In my opinion, after thinking about it for the last couple days, and talking to people it’s amazing to me this clown didn’t resign when he was first caught in a sexual relationship with a staffer. This guys outsized ego just sullied a lot of people’s good reputation and future prospects.
Plot twist
NAR membership up even as transactions decline
“It’s been nearly a year since rising mortgage rates put the brakes on an overheated real estate market. But so far, that hasn’t led to a big drop in the number of real estate agents.
The National Association of Realtors reported that it had 1,566,354 members at the end of July, up by 6,547 from June and down just 1% (14,617) from a year ago.
Dave Gallagher, Real Estate News
This market astounds me. Membership down only 1% YOY? Crazy.
Registrations for iOi Summit are now open
“Uncover the latest innovations by embracing change and hearing from experts on economic shifts, artificial intelligence, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory uncertainty, and more. All of this is only at NAR’s annual iOi Summit, the PropTech event of 2023”
Miami! Damn, I wish I could be there. I remember doing a “pitch battle” at iOi when we launched iBuyer Connect for Cloud CMA.
Legend
NAR CEO Bob Goldberg to Retire at the End of 2024
“Bob’s selfless commitment to our association has been inspiring to me and to everyone who’s served on NAR’s leadership team these past six years,” said 2023 NAR President Kenny Parcell. “He’s done so much in a relatively short time that will help Realtors® and consumers thrive both today and decades into the future. I’m incredibly thankful for that, and I know each of our members has Bob to thank for the innovations and advancements he’s championed in real estate markets across the world.”
Soon after becoming CEO, Bob spearheaded creation of the association’s Strategic Business, Innovation, and Technology team. Today, more than 220 global firms have been scaled through NAR’s growth accelerator, REACH, and its investment arm, Second Century Ventures.
Just one domestic REACH program was operating in the U.S. when Goldberg’s tenure began in 2017. Seven global entities now serve consumers, real estate agents and technology innovators, with REACH programs active in Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America, among others. REACH participation has grown from 40 global enterprises to 211 in that time—a 400% expansion in less than six years—while SCV has simultaneously increased its investments from 12 to 73.”
I think it’s pretty well known that I’m a huge fan of Bob. His contributions have had an enormous impact on organized real estate. His journey over the past 4 decades is remarkable. From his days at PRC, the internet, portal wars, SCV, the GFC, Proptech, COVID, sub 3% interest rates, and the inventory crisis. May you live in interesting times indeed.
As of today, NAR membership is at its highest level ever, and more consumers used a REALTOR last year than any other year before.
Omni Lobby Bar – After Party – Monday Night – Be There!
For all of those going to NAR Midyear meetings (I still can’t get myself to say RLM) this message is for you.
I don’t care where NAR decides to hold the conference, Tradition is tradition, so I’m inviting everyone to meet up at the Omni Hotel’s Marquee Lounge Monday night (5/8/23). Anywhere from 9 PM on, just get there before last call (Midnight), and let’s all raise a glass together in a place we have enjoyed each other’s company for so long!
Spread the word!!!
NAR announces 7 new REACH companies
Second Century Ventures Announces 14 Companies for 2023 REACH Scale-Up Program
“We are thrilled to welcome these innovative companies to the 2023 REACH and REACH Commercial programs,” said SCV President and NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “Their solutions are poised to make a significant impact and help overcome the complex challenges that lie ahead in the real estate industry.”
Here’s the list:
- Flock: offers a seamless and tax-deferred exit from rental property using the 721 Exchange, allowing property owners to passively earn income and appreciation without the traditional responsibilities of ownership.
- HighNote: a drag and drop presentation and proposal platform to help agents pitch and sell listings, offers, neighborhoods and themselves.
- Plus Platform: modern asset management and trading platform for residential mortgages, providing better transparency and liquidity to the mortgage market.
- Prisidio: digital vault to capture and securely share your most important information with the key people in your life.
- Real Grader: measures, manages and maximizes digital reputation for real estate professionals across search, social media and real estate platforms.
- Summer: simplifies the process of finding, buying, designing and monetizing a vacation or investment home through a non-fractional approach.
- Tongo: private card-based product for agents to draw against pending commissions ahead of closing, and only repay when they get paid.
I’ve been following HighNote for some time. Mark Choey, HighNote’s Founder, has a good idea for design and it shows in the product. I also think Tongo is interesting. These “credit cards for X” and popping up everywhere. Congrats!
Rob Hahn : “Fundamentally, I believe NAR and the Corporate Defendants will lose at trial on all of the cases known today.”
Recap and Summary: Likely Impact of the Commission Lawsuits
“As promised, I thought I would recap and summarize my thoughts on what the impact of the various lawsuits against NAR, brokerages, Zillow, and MLSs likely would be. These date back as far as March of 2019, when I wrote the first post about the first class action lawsuit, Moehrl v. NAR, which has now been certified as a class action. Over the years, I’ve written about Moehrl, Burnett, PLS v. NAR, Rex v. Zillow, and other lawsuits confronting the industry.”
Take your medicine from Dr. Notorious and read this post.
Second Century extends its REACH down under
“Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors® and the most active global real estate technology fund, announced today the acceptance of eight companies to the 2023 REACH Australia program. Now entering its fourth year in Australia, the REACH growth program is designed to help technology companies scale their growth and make a lasting impact across real estate communities worldwide.”
Back in the day, the biggest 3rd party software company in real estate tech was Top Producer. Top Producer was a Canadian company. In fact, there were many Canadian 3rd party software companies doing business in the US. Now it seems that Australians are the new Canadians.
NAR wins case against DOJ
NAR victorious in renewed DOJ antitrust probe
“On Wednesday, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the earlier settlement terms are still valid.
“The government, like any party, must be held to the terms of its settlement agreements, whether or not a new administration likes those agreements,” Kelly, a Trump appointee, wrote in his ruling.
In 2020, the DOJ’s antitrust division agreed to a settlement after investigating the trade groups listing and agent compensation policies. The settlement proposed at the time included requirements for NAR to boost transparency about broker commissions and to stop misrepresenting that buyer broker services are free.”
Did anyone see this coming? Seems like huge news but not reading about it anywhere other than Real Trends.
