Most members of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) are only aware of a small fraction of the special resources and business-building benefits available to them from their national association. One of the best examples is NAR’s Information Central—the same team that operates NAR’s toll-free call center at 1-800-874-6500.
Beyond fielding and responding to thousands of member requests via phone and email (membership numbers, passwords, etc.), NAR’s team of professional librarians and information specialists maintain the largest and oldest real estate library in the world—and they help members pinpoint information that may prove difficult, if not impossible, to find on their own. Here are just a few ways brokers and their agents can benefit from these free member services from NAR:
Reference and Research Services
Contact Information Central any time you need help finding a statistic or other information that will enhance your marketing efforts or help close a transaction. Examples:
-How does a particular neighborhood feature (a cellphone tower, a four-lane highway, recreational trails, etc.) impact residential property values?
-What has been the historic vacancy rate (in 2005, 1995, 1985, etc.) for office buildings in my city?
-Do you have examples of how to market certain types of property (such as a motel)?
-Can you confirm or invalidate a particular statistic I heard at a conference?
NAR’s professional librarians will research your question and send any articles, studies or other resources that provide answers. The research is free unless you require rush next-day service.
To access this free service: 1-800-874-6500 or infocentral@realtors.org.
Lending Library
Over 3,500 eBooks can be borrowed on real estate investment, housing styles, home improvement and staging, marketing techniques, management trends, foreign languages, financial literacy and a number of other real estate-related topics. A variety of formats are offered for desktop computers, tablets and mobile devices. Digital audiobooks are also available.
To access this free service: http://ebooks.realtor.org
Database of Professional Articles (ProQuest)
NAR members also have access to the ProQuest database of over 6,000 business and trade publications—most of which are not indexed by Google. Search for specific articles, browse professional real estate publications, or set up email alerts (by topic, or when a journal releases its newest issue, etc.).
To access this free service: http://www.REALTOR.org/articles/what-is-proquest
Enhance Your Sales Meetings
Make sure all your agents know about the top money-making and money-saving benefits available to members on REALTOR.org by inviting an Information Specialist to speak for 5 to 10 minutes at your next sales meeting (via Skype).
To access this free service: 1-800-874-6500 or infocentral@realtors.org.
Learn What’s New…
Be the first to know about new and updated NAR resources and research, discover useful real estate data from the Census Bureau and other organizations, and get quick, concise answers to your questions by following @askNAR on Twitter.
To access this free service: https://twitter.com/asknar
…Or Track Down What’s Old
The NAR Archives offers historical information about the REALTOR® Organization and the real estate industry since the early 1900s. Use it to learn about the origins of the MLS, exclusive contracts, real estate licensing and other features of today’s real estate industry. You’ll also find examples of vintage real estate ads and images, historical information about NAR, state and local REALTOR® associations, biographical material on influential real estate brokers and more.
To access this free service: More details about the Archives can be found at http://www.REALTOR.org/library/the-national-association-of-realtors-archives and the Archives’ Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/narinfocentral/.
To get started taking advantage of these free benefits available through NAR’s Information Central, visit www.REALTOR.org/library.
