The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) ends this week having completed the first-ever virtual iteration of its midyear meetings. While between nine and ten thousand REALTORS® typically descend on Washington, D.C., for the conference every May, over 28,000 NAR members participated in the 2020 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. All nine of this week’s conference sessions, offered by NAR at no cost to its members, were streamed on NAR’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.
“Although we could not all be together in D.C. this year, I am tremendously proud of the commitment I saw on display from 28,000 of America’s REALTORS® this week,” said NAR President Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co., Inc., in San Francisco, Calif. “Through this record-level participation, REALTORS® continue to show their strength, unity and commitment to real estate, even under the most unique circumstances. It’s why NAR and its members have such tremendous influence and respect on Capitol Hill, and why I’m more convinced than ever that this industry will lead America’s economic recovery.”
As part of nine conference sessions hosted this week, NAR welcomed various congressional leaders and White House officials to address its members, including Senator Tim Scott, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and Department of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. These guests, and a handful of other influential voices, offered insight into the federal government’s response to COVID-19, the pandemic’s impact on the real estate market and expectations for the nation moving forward.
“As we wrestle with one of the most disruptive times in our nation’s history, NAR knows how valuable it is that we continue to engage with and learn from policymakers who will drive our economy out of this shutdown,” Malta continued.
While NAR is currently planning to hold its 2020 REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans this fall, there is broad national recognition that this pandemic will alter the way Americans live, work and travel in the years ahead. But the nation’s largest trade association is prepared to adapt to whatever circumstances arise in November and beyond.
“As we find during any time of crisis, this pandemic offers our members and our association a tremendous opportunity to evolve and adapt to the markets of the future,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “While we hope to proceed with our annual Conference & Expo in New Orleans this November, we know the way this association operates will be forever changed—and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
“Decades of investments in technology and a commitment to reinventing ourselves allowed NAR to execute a conference none of us imagined being necessary just a few months ago. This week provides a successful blueprint of a hybrid approach for future NAR events—with both virtual and in-person capabilities—even after the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and all resulting shutdowns.”
For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.
