RISMEDIA, May 10, 2011—RealTown®, home of the oldest online real estate community, recently released the results of an online poll conducted amongst its community members to gauge REALTOR® and real estate industry participants’ acceptance of the National Association of REALTORS®’ proposed $40.00 annual fee increase to support its new Political Survival Initiative.
The poll—a RealTown® project not associated or commissioned by NAR—followed extensive discussions by community members on the NAR initiative. A number of posts were made by RealTown® moderators to help inform members on the various options to enable them to make better informed decisions prior to the official vote set by NAR Directors to take place during the NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, DC.
NAR expects the initiative to cost USD $195 Million over 5 years and has tabled two alternatives to fund the program, including:
Proposal A: NAR dues to increase by $40.00 per year for each member to fund the program.
Proposal B: Eliminate the Public Awareness Campaign USD $35.00 Assessment and increase dues by $35.00.
Under both alternatives, NAR has stated that the funds would be accounted for separately to demonstrate these are dedicated resources that would not be used for other operational purposes.
A total of 3041 RealTowners participated in the ‘NAR Dues Increase, Yay or Nay?’ poll. The base represents 2.17 percent of the community’s 140,000 subscribers, the vast majority of whom are REALTORS®. Subscribers were notified of the poll via e-mail as well as on RealTown.com, and were provided an access link for a one time secure vote to complete the poll using the One Person One Voice system.
Key Findings:
2502 (82.3 percent) of all respondents voted ‘No’ to NAR’s Proposal A, versus 496 (16.3 percent) who voted ‘Yes’ in support. Forty-nine (1.4 percent) participants were neutral and did not vote on this option.
The majority of respondents also opposed Proposal B, with 2195 (72.2 percent) voting ‘No’ versus 685 (22.5 percent) in support and voting ‘Yes’. Additionally, 161 (5.3 percent) participants did not cast a vote to this alternative.
The complete questionnaire and tabulated results can be viewed here.
For more information visit www.RealTown.com.
