It really makes me wonder just what planet these guys from the National Association Of Realtors (NAR) are from. As a Realtor, I pay dues to an organization that causes my clients and prospective clients to ridicule my chosen profession. It was my belief that these guys were supposed to be supporting me. Wow, was I ever wrong!

While many real estate agents may be lacking of intelligence and not up to speed on financial markets, the consumer is. In fact, I believe that the American consumer is out pacing the average Realtor in regards to garnering knowledge about the real estate industry and the purchase and sale process.

Too many real estate agents are hacks while the consumer looking to spend a couple of hundred thousand dollars in a volatile economy is becoming more and more informed while Realtors are not and relying on moronic cheerleading mantras and statements from an ill-prepared NAR.

Yesterday, in a post on a real estate agent haven website, Agent Genius, one agent pretty much summed up this statement pretty well. Lisa Sanderson, an agent from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania  said, “Catering to the lowest common denominator…thank you for saying that out loud. It has to stop if we are ever going to raise the level of professionalism in our industry. Consumers are out there teaching themselves about many facets of our business. If we don’t outpace them in that and prove our value, we are doomed.”

Bob Wilson, an agent from San Diego, California also offered an opinion and quipped, “Its sad that 87% of brokers feel that informed consumers are their biggest threat!” Read Activerain and that is readily apparent. The typical response is to insult the intelligence of the consumer. The reason they feel threatened is that many agents really do know that they know very little, so when challenged, they react like Bill Murray in Ghostbusters, “Back off man, I’m a scientist”. The consumer has access to info like they never did before and the knowledgeable agent should welcome that. It is another way to differentiate yourself from the competition, because we are now at a point in many markets where knowledge talks and BS walks.”

Sanderson and Wilson are absolutely right. I find myself constantly speaking to clients and prospective clients who look to me to provide them with information borne from substantive fact not wishful thinking that the NAR wants us to spew forth. Credibility and integrity are worth a lot more than a sale.

For example, while Wall Street took an absolute beating last week and the financial news hit like a ton of bricks on what seemed like a daily basis, I received call after call from clients as to what I thought would happen. If you are a regular reader of this blog you know how I feel. Yet while I counsel in reality, we get nothing but rhetoric from the NAR.

Last week while giving a speech (better known as preaching to the choir) to the New York State Association of Realtors in Saratoga Springs, Lawrence Yun, named one of the nation’s top economists by USA Today, said the “foreclosure crisis has been over-hyped”. He went on to say that “It’s very high from a historical point of view, but it’s not as if people are falling apart right and left.”

Huh? Does this guy own a television set? Has he ever even heard of Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers,  AIG??? This is the guy the NAR sends out to make speeches that people besides rose-colored glass wearing real estate agents can actually hear? Are you kidding me?

Does this guy have any idea how much $700 Billion dollars in bailout money is? But he says with a straight face that it’s not that bad? Just a bit overhyped. Yeah, and the Titanic had just a little leak! What an absolute moronic statement. But it gets worse for those of us trying to survive on credibility, integrity and market awareness.

What did the NAR members in attendance do when they heard this BS? Did they rush the stage? Give him the hook? Turn off the mic? No! According to the reporter from the local newspaper who covered this fiasco, the audience actually applauded and cheered.

Let me ask the people of upsate New York. Do you feel comfortable with any agent who cheered this speech handling or advising you on your next home purchase or sale? Of course you don’t.

Yun and the NAR cronies are so far out of touch I think they forgot just when the last time it was that they told the truth and had some resemblance of a credible trade organization.

When Yun can actually muster the audacity to say that he believes that the housing slump is nearly over (he’s actually been saying that for over a year) despite recent financial news, and that “the winter months are always weaker (for home sales), but this winter will be better than last winter,” and that there is this great pent-up demand that cannot be held back any further“…then we as professionals have to begin distancing ourselves from a regime that does not represent or hold the best interest of the American consumer in any regard whatsoever.

My clients expect the truth as well they should. This is not the time for professionals to sugarcoat the realities of our economy and our local market conditions. We don’t have to BS the consumer in order to earn a living. There are buyers out there and if represented correctly and given the data relative to the market, they are making informed decisions and are buying homes and are responding to those agents who can expertly navigate the volatile waters of today’s real estate market.

Can someone please put a muzzle on the NAR and Lawrence Yun!