The recent Real Estate Week (REW) in Tbilisi has become a successful international event, attended by the heads of American and European realtors’ associations. This year's REW featured significant events such as the International Realtors® Conference. Kenny PARCELL, President of the National Association of REALTORS® (USA), kindly agreed to answer our questions about NAR’s event in Tbilisi and, more generally, about his organization’s interest in our region.
REW is an annual event organized by the Georgian National Real Estate Association (GNARE) and ExpoGeorgia. EURICA Review is proud to be the official media partner of REW.
EURICA Review: Dear Kenny, welcome to the EURICA Review. You are the head of NAR – America's largest trade association, representing over 1.5 million members, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Even the very term “Realtor®” belongs to your organization as a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who subscribes to your Code of Ethics. I am sure there is a lot you can tell us about NAR and your ideology, but let me start with a basic question - Why Georgia? Why is a large American association organizing an event in Georgia (Europe), while most Americans would probably confuse this country with the US state of Georgia?
Kenny PARCELL: We are very proud of the bilateral partnership we have with the Georgian National Real Estate Association - they’ve been amazing partners from day one, and they’re on track to become the fastest growing country association in Eastern Europe in terms of International REALTOR members.
GNARE is an institution, just like NAR, that exists to create a more ethical, professional and transparent way of doing business while defending the real estate profession.
We have three main goals for these global partnerships:
- Help our members do more business;
- Elevate the profession;
- Create more ethical and transparent markets across the world.
We are in the greatest profession in the world – helping regular families, everyday people, find homes, and build generational wealth. Real estate professionals are the best people.
ER: Can you tell a few words about the general concept of NAR’s presence at Real Estate Week, its purpose, and expected results? Maybe some highlights from the previous conferences, or success stories originating from similar NAR events in the past?
KP: This conference brings together so many unique perspectives. It’s so important to broaden our worldview and increase our understanding of how many different walks of life there are. There’s so much we can learn from one another at these events. Our countries are very different, but real estate unites us. We are in the greatest profession in the world – helping regular families, everyday people, find homes, and build generational wealth. Real estate professionals are the best people. And this event helps us realize we are all part of something really big and really important
ER: Is there anything in the NAR agenda that you wish to emphasize? Any trends or priorities you wish to touch upon – on a global, regional, or American level?
KP: Every day we are focused on sharing the REALTOR story, and showing the REALTOR difference. Nobody does what we do for consumers. The economy is showing mixed signals right now. Demand has softened because of high interest rates. Yet inventory is so low, prices are slow to come down, and in some areas are still increasing.
We are addressing what we call the three A’s: Affordability, accessibility, and availability. That means we’re advocating for more inventory and lowering barriers to homebuying with things like alternative credit scoring methods and lower mortgage insurance premiums. So homeownership becomes more accessible to more Americans.
ER: You are a real estate professional with over 25 years’ experience. What’s your view on the real estate market in Georgia and the challenges this industry might face? Or, perhaps you may share some lessons learned from your personal experience, which might be relevant for this region?
KP: Economic instability affects us all, but it affects newer agents the most. Many people became REALTORS during the last few years of the very hot market when interest rates were historically low. They’ve never weathered a more difficult market like we have now, so they will be tested, and brokers will need to be there to support their younger agents and help them through any downtime. So it all comes back to the value proposition - What do you do to go above and beyond?
ER: Going back to NAR, how would you summarize the role of National Association of REALTORS in your country? Why do you attach special attention to the Code of Ethics, and what does it mean in practice?
KP: As you know, in America, not every agent is a REALTOR: You have to be a member of NAR to be a REALTOR, and you have to subscribe to our strict Code of Ethics.
Historically, the real estate industry in America has not always been fair to some groups of people. In fact, several decades ago NAR supported discriminatory policies that still impact the abilities of some Americans to buy homes today. Our Code of Ethics reflects our commitment to protecting consumers from discrimination, and to ensuring we are ethical in how we grow neighborhoods and build communities. That also means considering things like sustainability in what we do. Some real estate agents may not want to subscribe to this strictly enforced Code, and they don’t have to – but they aren’t a REALTOR.
ER: Thank you very much for the interview.
