Realtors are tasked with helping families make the biggest financial decision of their lives. To that end, NAR wants to preserve the idea of a realtor as an intelligent professional. And when an agent engages in conduct unbecoming of a realtor (like posting racial slurs on social media, having sex in an empty listing, or threatening the life of a broker who takes a job at Zillow), the association can and should protect the realtor brand and let that agent go.
On this episode of the podcast, Rob and Greg are discussing the series of speech code proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee to prevent realtors from discriminating against the protected classes and using harassing or hate speech, epithets or slurs in both their personal and professional lives.
Rob and Greg go on to explore the problems with the committee’s proposal, explaining why it’s difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech and how the rules don’t address other kinds of unprofessional behavior. Listen in for insight on how a Conduct Unbecoming Clause would work as an alternative to protect the realtor brand from behavior that is ‘disgraceful, unprofessional and unbecoming’ of an agent.
What’s Discussed:
An overview of the series of proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee
--Policy Statement 29 applies NAR Code of Ethics to conduct outside of real estate
--Standard of Practice 10-5 prohibits harassing/hate speech, epithets or slurs of protected classes
--Definition of ‘public trust’ expanded to include all discrimination against protected classes
The problems Rob sees with the committee’s proposal
--Difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech
--Leaves out threats, harassment of unprotected classes
--Many conservative realtors feel targeted by changes
The benefits of Rob’s alternative Conduct Unbecoming Clause
How the history of race in America informs the way NAR is approaching the proposed changes
The value in protecting the realtor brand from conduct that is disgraceful, unprofessional and unbecoming of an agent
Connect with Rob and Greg:
Resources:
NAR’s Proposed Speech Code Regulations
Rob’s Post on the Proposed Speech Code Regs
The NAR Professional Standards Committee
‘NAR Proposes Ethics Changes to Crack Down on Social Media Harassment’ in Inman
‘NAR’s Proposed Ethics Changes Miss the Mark’ in Inman
Raise the Bar in Real Estate Facebook Group
Canadian Real Estate Association
CREA’s Conduct Unbecoming Clause
Rob’s Post on the Reputation of Realtors
Racism in Real Estate on Industry Relations EP052
Our Sponsors:
**** NOTICE: We recorded this pod using Zoom audio but had a few technical issues. The audio quality wasn’t great and at some point, Zoom stopped recording all together. We were able to piece together a good episode but not the whole conversation. I’m super bummed, but we all agreed, even if its not the full conversation, it’s still something we wanted to put out there. ****
Systemic racism has its roots in housing. Government policies deliberately disadvantaged Black and Brown people, and that’s led to segregated communities, educational inequalities and a substantial wealth gap. So, what can we do as an industry to address these disparities and better serve ALL of our clients?
On this episode of Industry Relations, Emily Chenevert, CEO of the Austin Board of Realtors, and Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, SVP of Diversity Solutions at T3 Sixty, join Rob and Greg to discuss the history of race discrimination in real estate, explaining how practices like redlining have stunted the Black community’s capacity to build generational wealth and why industry organizations need to recognize and publicly denounce the racism of the past.
Emily and Kenya share how the industry has improved, describing NAR’s shift to prioritize diversity and inclusion and exploring what organized real estate might do to further educate association members around equity moving forward. Listen in for insight on tackling home ownership disparities and learn what is (and what isn’t) our responsibility to do as an industry to address racial inequality in America.
What’s Discussed:
The history of race discrimination in real estate (i.e.: redlining, racist land use patterns)
How racism around housing has stunted the Black community’s ability to build generational wealth
The government’s role in creating a wealth gap in the US
Why organizations like NAREB exist independently from NAR
Greg’s call for industry organizations to recognize and denounce the racism of the past (and what that might look like)
The shift from diversity and inclusion as an afterthought to a need within NAR
How we might educate association members around issues of equity
The lack of diversity among the leadership in real estate associations and MLSs
Why 25 of the 26 agents caught steering on Long Island are still working
Kenya’s insight on tackling home ownership disparity by way of education, opportunity and resources
Emily’s experience with difficult conversations on race as Austin overhauls its land development code
What it’s our responsibility to do as an industry to address racial inequality (and what’s not in our lane)
Connect with Emily:
Connect with Kenya:
Connect with Rob and Greg:
Resources:
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans’ in History
National Association of Real Estate Brokers
The Chicago Association of Realtors’ Apology & Recommitment to Fair Housing
The Newsday Investigation on Steering
HAR Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
Austin’s Land Development Code Revision
Our Sponsors: