Association News

Real estate associations support brokers in a number of ways, many of which take place behind the scenes. What’s happening at your local association? How are they serving their members? This monthly feature, penned by association leaders, offers the inside scoop on how associations small and large are helping to improve the industry.

Overcoming Adversity: The recovery and growth of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®

COVID was a setback for many associations, but it offered the Women’s Council of REALTORS® the opportunity to get creative and dig deep to find ways to connect meaningfully with members across the country.

How do we make housing ‘fair’ — embrace YIMBYism

“Though we must be willing to accept that we need more housing, we must also embrace more people in the housing market because it is good for the community. It is good for local businesses, and it is good for the national economy.” — Dawn Ruffini, 2022 President, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®

AREAA fostering progress through greater accessibility

“The AAPI community is undergoing a period of rapid growth, in sheer numbers and in cultural impact … At AREAA, we are proud and humbled to play our part in fostering progress that will lead to greater accessibility and opportunity for the growing AAPI community.” — Tim Hur, president of the Asian Real Estate Association of America

New era – new agent

“What the pandemic did was take each and every one of us out of our comfort zones and force us to think beyond what we historically knew of our businesses. This is when we showed our true resilience as not only agents, but also as people.” — Arlene Castellano, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals Network Chair

The right and wrong ways to make housing more affordable

“By taking the right steps and avoiding the wrong ones, we can increase the presence of safe, reliable, affordable housing in Massachusetts, and bolster multi-generational income for all,” writes Melvin A. Vieira, Jr., 2022 president of the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS®

Consumer Federation of America: ‘Uncouple buyer, seller agent commissions’

The ongoing commission battle has one report calling for changes the NAR says could freeze many out of the homebuying process.

A 2022 real estate forecast

“Expect strong housing demand to continue and prices to increase, although both will likely moderate over the next 12 months,” writes incoming NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith.

Boston Agent magazine’s top 5 Association News items from 2021

Look through our top 5 Association News stories to reflect on the unique year in real estate.

NAR applauds President Biden’s nomination of FHFA director

The National Association of REALTORS®  applauded President Joe Biden’s nomination of acting Federal Housing Finance Agency director Sandra Thompson to serve in a permanent capacity.. “Her talents and experience will benefit the enterprises, homeowners and home buyers and the mortgage-financing ecosystem,” NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith said in a press release.

NAR donated nearly 3,500 meals to Americans in last six months

As part of an ongoing relationship with the Food Recovery Network (FRN), the National Association of Realtors provided roughly 3,475 meals to Americans in the past six months, according to a press release. 

A year-end wrap-up from your Realtor association

“Here are two ways that Realtors can prove that we are invaluable resources regardless of market conditions.” — Dino Confalone, 2021 president, The Greater Boston Association of REALTORS®

NAR Travel Club to provide travel discounts to members

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has partnered with Panorama Travel Solutions to offer exclusive travel deals and discounts through the NAR Travel Club.

NAR Board of Directors meeting reveals statistics about member dues, operations

As of Sept. 30, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) had collected $229.6 in dues from its 1.542 million members, according to a RealTrends report.

NAR must remain at the forefront of growth and innovation

This was the year that we proceeded slowly and cautiously to get our lives back to normal. When fans returned to stadiums, students returned to classrooms and tourists returned to flights, landmarks and hotel rooms.

Theresa Hatton, CEO of Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®
Massachusetts a leader in diverting evictions

With the ending of the Federal Center for Disease Control eviction moratorium, now is a critical time for agents to bone up on existing housing programs and policies so they can help ensure both tenants and landlords receive the benefits that are available to them.  

Obstacles and opportunities to growing hispanic homeownership

Despite the inventory and credit challenges, Latinos are driving homeownership growth. The Urban Institute projects that this trend is only going to continue, with Latinos expected to make up 70% of homeownership growth between now and 2040.

Oops! We could not locate your form.