NAR membership up even as transactions decline
“It’s been nearly a year since rising mortgage rates put the brakes on an overheated real estate market. But so far, that hasn’t led to a big drop in the number of real estate agents.
The National Association of Realtors reported that it had 1,566,354 members at the end of July, up by 6,547 from June and down just 1% (14,617) from a year ago.
Dave Gallagher, Real Estate News
This market astounds me. Membership down only 1% YOY? Crazy.
“The answers can be found in a new book — Acquiring More Profit: The Definitive Guide to Successful Real Estate Brokerage Mergers & Acquisition — by renowned industry M&A expert George Slusser, who has closed more than 700 real estate acquisitions, and Victor Lund, real estate’s top consultant to leading brokerages, franchises, and brokerage-related networking organizations. This book dives deeply into the process and provides a playbook that allows brokers to create and execute action plans for successfully buying and selling a real estate brokerage.”
Congrats to George and Victor on the new book.
I mixed up a few sponsorships and now have this month available for sponsorship. The rest of 2023 is already booked so this could be your only chance to advertise on Vendor Alley.
Reach out soon and I’ll give you a good discount.
What your sponsorship gets:
▪A display ad (with link) in the sidebar on every page (size is 230 x 230) of the site, all month long.
▪At the end of each week in the sponsorship month I’ll post a thank you along with a link to your site.
▪Estimated monthly web page views: 10,000
▪Email addresses receiving post notifications: 750
▪Twitter(X) followers on the @gregrobertson account: Close to 5,000.
▪Sponsorship is exclusive. Only one sponsor per month.
The blog is pretty niche. While some of the stats above may not impress you, I can assure you that the audience is quality over quantity.
To reserve your space or find out more please email me at: gregrobertson@gmail.com
Just wanted to give one last shout out to Nestfully for sponsoring last month’s Vendor Alley. If you are interested in finding out more please check out their MLS Partnership site.
Nestfully is the next-gen real estate ecosystem that facilitates natural connections and communication between consumers and real estate pros.
Join the fast- growing network of the nation’s top MLSs that are the driving force behind Nestfully:
-Unbiased, ad-free natural search results for consumers
-Connections to local consumers at no cost to either the consumer or the professional
My thanks again to Nestfully.
Real estate agent fined over $15,000 for drinking milk at seller’s home
“After a home surveillance camera caught Mike Rose drinking milk straight out of the container at a house he was showing, the British Columbia Financial Services Authority, a government agency tasked with regulating the Canadian province’s financial institutions, on July 18 deemed Rose’s actions “unbecoming” under the British Columbia Real Estate Services Act. It fined him 20,000 Canadian dollars, or approximately $15,162. The agency also ordered Rose to pay an additional 2,500 Canadian dollars, or almost $1,896, in enforcement expenses, records show.”
My guess if the agent had stolen a beer from the fridge instead of milk the Canadian Feds would have let it pass.
Speaking of Inman Connect, Rob Hahn and I are a finalist for and Inman Innovator Award for top video or podcast. This was a complete surprise and grateful for those who nominated us.
I’m not sure when they announce the winners but we have some stiff competition.
I’ve been asked to moderate a few sessions at Inman Connect Las Vegas next week.
Wednesday, August 9th -Pinyon 4 (Main Stage)
3:05 PM to 3:25 PM
Proptech M&A and Capital Markets Update: What You Need to Know
3:25 PM to 3:45 PM
How Can the MLS Be a Broker’s Business Partner?
3:50 PM to 4:05 PM
Is Clear Cooperation Working The Way We Hoped It Would?
These are some juicy subjects for me, and I’ve some great panelists so these season ought to be fun!
Hope to see you there!
CEO of San Diego Association of Realtors ousted amid accusations of embezzlement
“The plaintiffs, which include the association’s former Chief Operating Officer, Director of Human Resources, Controller, and Marketing Chief, claim Mr. Mercurio, “engaged in massive embezzlement, stealing over $1 million from SDAR, and further directed, and participated in, the falsification of financial documents, extensive personal use of company credit cards, payroll fraud, and tax evasion.”
To make matters worse, plaintiffs, Heather Pena, Laura Martella, Jon Schwartz, and Nicholas Hoffer, say instead of supporting them after discovering what they claim was a long-running embezzlement scheme, the association’s board “shot the messengers” by launching investigations into their conduct and later firing them without cause. “
CBS 8 News
Everyone deserves their day in court but even if half these allegations are true they should throw this idiot in jail and throw away the key.
MLS Director – San Antonio Board of REALTORS(R)
“San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) is seeking a highly motivated and forward-thinking individual to take on the role of MLS Director. As the MLS Director, you will be a key leader, providing direct oversight of the MLS department and fostering a culture of teamwork and collaboration within the team.”
To find about this job and more please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board!
Today, Friday, July 28th will be my last day at Lone Wolf Technologies. Going forward, they have asked me if I would serve as a senior advisor to the company, and I am happy to do so. Despite the market setback, I strongly believe Lone Wolf is on the right track in regard to product and strategy.
I want to also personally thank Jimmy Kelly, CEO of Lone Wolf for his patience, and trust and for creating a place for me and everyone else at W+R to learn and grow.
As you get older your circle of friends tends to grow smaller. Luckily, that has not been the case with me. I have met so many great and talented people at Lone Wolf. I will continue to call upon them in the future and will miss working alongside them every day. And thanks for the nice write-up. 😁
I am also very proud of the team we brought over from W+R. It fills me with great pride to see W+R people continue to advance, take on key leadership positions at Lone Wolf (and other companies), and watch their influence propel the industry forward.
For the next chapter I plan to decompress a bit, maybe write another book, focus on my blog (Vendor Alley) and podcasts (Industry Relations and Listing Bits), invest, and give back to the industry that has given me so much. I also have three teenagers in the house, so there’s that.
In the future, you can reach me at gregrobertson@gmail.com or 714.240.3895.
