Commercial Data From Realtors Property Resource® Is a Big Advantage When it Comes to Economic Development
As any real estate professional can attest, a phone that’s ringing off the hook is a good sign in today’s competitive market. But for Missy Vanderpool, association executive for the Henderson Audubon Board of REALTORS®, it’s not just prospective buyers and sellers that keep her on her toes. More often than not, it’s Steve Austin—the mayor of Henderson, Ky.—calling and asking for Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) economic area reports.
In fact, Austin and other council members regularly call on Vanderpool when they’re meeting with businesses that are interested in doing economic development in the area. They do so because of the depth of information the RPR reports provide, offering everything from consumer tapestry data, demographic and lifestyle information to economic trends.
With 14 years of industry experience under her belt, Vanderpool credits her time spent outside the industry between 2011 and 2014 as leading to her discovery of RPR. Upon re-entering the industry in 2015, she learned of the company and decided to watch webinars and invest in training so that she could pass along the information provided by RPR to the association’s newest members.
“I received a phone call from our Main Street organization about needing some demographic-type information, and that’s when I began using the economic reports,” says Vanderpool, who goes on to explain that RPR is one of the greatest benefits of membership to her association.
And it’s this incredible value that local politicians see when they reach out.
Recently, city representatives were meeting with a major developer, which prompted the city manager to call Vanderpool and ask if she would come to the meeting and bring data.
“Those types of phone calls have become normal. Anytime there’s a meeting about housing and/or developments, they call us,” says Vanderpool. “They love and value the RPR reports, and I feel we finally have a seat at the table. They know we’re the experts, and they value our voice.”
In addition to working closely with city representatives, Vanderpool also works directly with RPR representative Ernie Bottom, who spends a good amount of time helping her with the economic reports. Because of this, Vanderpool has been able to provide better insights to all association members and local politicians.
But it doesn’t end there.
“Several months ago, when we began working on the downtown master plan as part of our Economic Vitality Committee, I sent Ernie an email because I was having a little trouble defining the designated area,” says Vanderpool, “and I had a phone call from him within a minute of sending the email. He walked me through the process, and we got the area we needed defined.”
Instances like these where Ernie and RPR have gone above and beyond for Vanderpool are not outliers. And although the Henderson Audubon Board of REALTORS® is one of the smallest associations in the state, RPR doesn’t treat them any differently.
For more information, please visit www.narrpr.com.
Jameson Doris is RISMedia’s blog and social media editor. Email him your real estate blog ideas at jdoris@rismedia.com.
