N.A.R.: Let's Put A Happy Face on the Housing Market

Frank Sibley, N.A.R. VP of Communications & Conventions

The ad campaign of the National Association of Realtors (N.A.R.) serves exactly that - members of the N.A.R.

Not consumers.

Realtors shouted in unison: "We want more advertising".

The N.A.R. organization has responded.

Advertising Age reports that according to Frank Sibley, the N.A.R.'s Senior Vice President of Communications, N.A.R. members (realtors) themselves voted to hike their own association dues by $5.00 to a total of $30.00 in order to fund the new ad campaign, which would extol the virtues using Realtors over licensed brokers, and continue to flood the television airways with the notion that "Now is a great time to buy" real estate.

The N.A.R. will be increasing advertising spend by 60% to $40 million in 2007.

But will this be enough to change the sales volume stats in the housing market?

Not likely.

One must consider Brad Inman's comments in the AdAge article:

Realtors "are trying to counteract that tipping of consumer
confidence," he said. "None of those ad campaigns is going to counteract a bad market."
As a trade association, "A lot of what [the NAR does] is to
please its members as opposed to doing what is really going to persuade the public," Mr. Inman added.