Broker involvement increases REALTOR® response to legislators

Brokers and REALTORS® throughout the country are voicing their concerns on legislative issues through NAR’s Broker Involvement Program.

Brokers who participate in this program can have NAR’s Calls-to-Action sent directly to their agents.

Don Roth, president of the PA Association of REALTORS®, encourages Pennsylvania brokers to enroll in the Broker Involvement Program. “The intent is to get more members involved in legislative efforts,” Roth said. “Ultimately, this will give us greater influence with our national legislators and the issues we’re dealing with.”

To enroll, a broker completes the application. When NAR issues a Call-to-Action regarding a particular legislative issue, notification is sent to the broker. The broker can then decide to have NAR forward the information to his agents. “The broker has complete control,” Roth added. “He can decline having any Call-to-Action sent if he wants to.”

Todd Polinchock, one of PAR’s representatives to NAR’s REALTORS® Political Involvement Committee (RPIC), said research shows that when the Call-to-Action comes from a broker, there’s a 25 to 30 percent greater chance that an agent will respond.

“REALTORS® get inundated with e-mails on a daily basis,” Polinchock said. “They’re more likely to open them if the e-mail is from their broker.”

And a higher response rate means legislators are getting the message. “When legislators get e-mails from our members, they might not read every one of them but they do count them as they come in,” Polinchock said. “Sending thousands of e-mails shows them the strength and solidarity of the REALTORS®.”

Pennsylvania had an 18 percent Call-to-Action response rate last year, higher than NAR’s nationwide rate of 13.8 percent. PA REALTORS® marked an impressive 24 percent response rate when encouraging Congress to extend the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

NAR Region 2 Vice-President Greg Herb said, “The Broker Involvement Program is an effective and more efficient way to make our voices heard. NAR does all the work once the broker has signed on. This is a tremendous communication tool that allows our message to be heard.”