DESIGNATED
REALTOR
®
ISSUE 3: June 2022
NJREALTOR.COM
I M P O R TA N T D AT E S & D E A D L I N E S
JUNE
JULY
7 Board of Directors Meeting 9 Realtors
®
Day in Trenton
13-14 DEI Summit
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
4 NJ Realtors
7 Purple Heart Day
5 NJ Realtors
9 Eid al-Adha Begins
8-9 National Association of
Realtors® Leadership Summit
11 Grandparent’s Day
9 National Women’s Day
13 Board of Directors Meeting
Office Closed—Independence Day ®
deirealestatesummit.com
14 Flag Day
® Office Closed—Labor Day
25 Rosh Hashanah Begins
17 NJ Realtors
® Office Closed for Juneteenth
19 Father’s Day 19 Juneteenth 30 NJ Realtors
® Fair Housing Art Contest Deadline
WHAT’S BUZZING IN REAL ESTATE?
1
NJ Realtors® invites you to be a part of changing the industry at the two-day Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit on June 13 and 14. This brand-new real estate event will take a deeper look at DEI in the real estate industry and create actionable steps for change. Register here.
2
If you have a potential client that’s not quite ready to purchase their first home, send them this article to help them jumpstart their home search process.
3
The National Association of Realtors® Board of Directors met at the end of the 2022 Realtors® Legislative Meetings. The Board of Directors elected 2023 officers, voted to extend the That’s Who We R consumer advertising campaign, and more. Read the full report here.
4
The April housing data is in! New listings, closed sales, and homes for sale were all down, while the median sales price was up to $420,000 in April 2022. Read the full reports on the municipal, county, and state level here.
5
NJ Realtors® Member Perks Partner Hemlane can help you streamline and automate tasks such as screening tenants, collecting rent and late fees, reducing liability, and more. Click here to get started.
6
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun expects the commercial market to grow. “The industrial sector is booming, retail is turning positive, the hotel industry is recovering, apartments are doing very well, and rents are rising in all commercial sectors.” Read more here.
GREEN REAL ESTATE TRENDS
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING REPURPOSING
PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
TINY HOMES
24% of brokers
said tiny homes were available in their market.
36%
63% of
said properties with solar panels increased the perceived property value.
agents and brokers said energy efficiency promotion in listings was very or somewhat valuable.
MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE
35%
of respondents reported their Multiple Listing Service had green data fields.
8% of
brokerage firms had experience working with residential building repurposing.
SOLAR PANELS
GREEN HOME FEATURES
These home features are believed to be very important to clients. Windows/Doors/Siding:
36%
Proximity to Frequently Visited Places:
35%
ANSWERING CLIENTS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT HOME PERFORMANCE
33%
of respondents were extremely comfortable or comfortable answering clients’ questions about home performance.
CONNECTING CLIENTS WITH GREEN LENDING PRODUCTS
32%
of respondents were extremely confident or very confident with connecting a client to a lender who could provide lending products that encourage energy-efficient improvements to existing homes.
Source: 2022 Realtors® & Sustainability Report – Residential
Designated REALTOR® | June 2022 | 1
Let’s Talk About
ARBITRATION The state and local boards and association of REALTORS® are responsible for enforcing the 17 articles of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. Here are some important facts to keep in mind if you find yourself or one of your agents find yourself in this situation.
All information from the National Association of Realtors® unless otherwise cited.
A
rbitration is a duty and a privilege. By becoming and remaining a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, you agree to the duties and obligations imposed by the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, including the duty to submit to arbitration as conducted under Article 17. According to Article 17 of the Code of Ethics, “in the event of contractual disputes or specific non-contractual disputes as defined in Standard of Practice 17-4, between REALTORS® (principals) associated with different firms, arising out of their relationship as REALTORS®, the REALTORS® shall mediate the dispute if the Board requires its members to mediate. If the dispute is not resolved through mediation, or if mediation is not required, REALTORS® shall submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the policies of the Board rather than litigate the matter.” Designated REALTOR® | June 2022 | 2
Requests for arbitration must be in writing, in proper form, indicating the nature of the dispute and amount in dispute and accompanied by the required filing fee (deposit). The Request must be filed within 180 days after the closing of the transaction, if any, or within 180 after the facts constituting the arbitrable matter could have been known in the exercise of reasonable diligence, whichever is later. After a request for arbitration is made, the matter is forwarded to the local board or association’s Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee is comprised of trained volunteer members whose function, in an arbitration request, is to determine, if, taken as true on their face, a hearing is to be warranted. Grievance Committee members follow the policies and procedures set forth in the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics & Arbitration Manual in their review and analysis of a request for arbitration to determine proper disposition of the request. Please note, that upon receipt of a formal request for arbitration, or prior to a formal request, the Professional Standards
ELEMENTS OF DUE PROCESS • Timely notices • Adequate time to prepare a defense • Ability to present evidence • Ability to hear testimony and cross-examine • Opportunity to tell your story • Right to counsel • Right to witnesses • Impartial hearing panel (right to challenge) • Availability of procedural review Volunteer trained members of the Professional Standards Committee will serve as the arbitrators in a hearing. Unlike mediation, where the parties reach a mutually acceptable resolution, in arbitration, the hearing panel renders a decision, the ‘Award of the Arbitrators’ which is based on the evidence and arguments presented during the hearing. There are no predetermined rules of entitlement. Every arbitration hearing is considered in light of all of the relevant facts and circumstances as presented by the parties and their witnesses. RESOURCES Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of REALTORS® Administrator of the Board will advise parties of their mediation obligations and options to participate in mediation. Unless required by the board, if both parties agree to mediation, a mediation officer will be selected (parties will be given the right to challenge any mediation officer) to facilitate the mediation conference. If the parties reach a resolution, they will sign a Mediation Resolution Agreement and the matter will be considered closed. If parties do not reach a resolution, the matter will proceed with the arbitration process. Although no party to an arbitration matter can be required to submit to mediation unless REALTOR® principals are required by their Board to mediate otherwise arbitrable disputes pursuant to Article 17. Mediation is NAR’s preferred method of dispute resolution. Mediation can be a very useful tool in resolving the conflicts that arise and help maintain relationships. Mediation affords the parties the opportunity to come to a mutually acceptable resolution. If the matter moves forward to an arbitration hearing, a full and due process hearing is afforded to the parties.
Appendix II to Part Ten Arbitration Guidelines
Appendix V to Part Ten Arbitration Hearing Checklist
Case Interpretations Related to Article 17
Professional Standards Mediation Brochures
Designated REALTOR® | June 2022 | 3
Honor and Celebrate
PRIDE MONTH In June we highlight LGBTQ+ pride and the community it represents. The fight for equality doesn’t end when the month ends, but we encourage you to bring attention to this underrepresented group with your agents by using this list of resources.
Discover LGBTQA+ Groups LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance
realestatealliance.org Launched in 2020, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is a non-profit corporation that advocates for fair housing and LGBTQ+ homeownership. It provides educational resources to its members and resources to consumers to assist in the home buying and selling process.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! • Attend a two-day Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit on June 13 and 14 to take a deeper look at DEI in the real estate industry. Register here. • NJ Realtors® is hosting a free continuing education class with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance on June 24 at 10:30 a.m. to kick-off Pride Month. Register here.
Garden State Equality
gardenstateequality.org 150,000 members strong, Garden State Equality helps protect LGBTQ+ New Jerseyans and is the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy in the state. It works to pass pro-equality policies and provide community education and training programs.
Human Rights Campaign
hrc.org This organization strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. The Human Rights Campaign was initially established in 1980 to support pro-fairness congressional candidates and has since expanded to be known as the go-to LGBTQ+ educational resource.
Designated REALTOR® | June 2022 | 4
Dive into LGBTQ+ Educational Materials and Classes At Home With Diversity
nar.realtor/at-home-with-diversity The National Association of Realtors® designed this certification program to help Realtors® work with all potential home buyers and covers diversity, fair housing, and business planning.
Human Rights Campaign Resources
hrc.org/resources From equality in the workplace to health equity to coming out the resources available from the Human Rights Campaign will help foster a deeper understanding of the LGBTQ+ community and how you can be an ally.
Human Rights Center
humanrightscareers.com/diversity-and-inclusion-courses If you’re caught up on your continuing education credits, consider furthering your knowledge even further with the Human Rights Center’s compiled list of free DEI and LGBTQ+ courses from top universities around the country.
Sharable Content for Your Social Media Page NAR Fair Housing Assets
nar.realtor/thats-who-we-r/fair-housing-assets If you’re looking for graphics to post to honor Pride Month, check out NAR’s fair housing graphics. You can download print ads, animated social media ads, Zoom backgrounds, and more. Take it a step further and download Photofy to customize NAR’s and NJ Realtors® assets.
Library of Congress
loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/resources The Library of Congress resource page is a must visit. Its research guides will help you and your agents research the history of the LGBTQ+ community as it relates to the workplace, performing arts, sports, and more. The page also features the Library’s collections from LGBTQ+ photographers, writers, designers, and more.
Digital Content & Community Stories from the Real Estate Alliance
realestatealliance.org/stories Check out the Real Estate Alliance’s past webinars and share them with your agents to learn more about discrimination in real estate and what you can do to help increase LGBTQ+ homeownership.
OutRight Action International Social Media Toolkit
pridewithapurpose.info/get-involved OutRight Action helps LGBTQ+ activists with research around the world. Share their content to help spread the word. Designated REALTOR® | June 2022 | 5
OPEN MINDS, HOUSES REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS® and abide by a Code of Ethics which goes beyond the federal Fair Housing Act by expressly prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ+ consumers. This commitment extends to all our behaviors as REALTORS® and to our advocacy on Capitol Hill. We believe that all properties should be open to all and feel welcome to all. Because pride has a home here.
REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS®