14 EIENDOMSMEGLEREN NR 03-2022 STUDENTER STUDENTER LEDELSEN LEDELSEN VERDT Å VITE VERDT Å VITE FAGSTOFF FAGSTOFF FRITID FRITID GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN It is a truly great honor to be here today, as NEF celebrates 90 years of service to Norway's real estate industry. The National Association of Realtors has formal, bilateral relationships with real estate associations in more than 76 countries around the world, but few share such a close bond with us as NEF. I would like to especially recognize and thank Carl Geving and Randi Hollingen for arranging this trip and my good friend Kurt Fridtjof Buck who first issued this invitation two years ago — unfortunately, a pandemic got in the way! You all should be very proud of Carl as he is one of only eight international delegates currently serving on NAR’s Board of Directors. This is a well-deserved honor, a recognition of his knowledge and his contributions to our common goals. And what are these common goals? These goals are to enhance real estate practices in every country so consumers may freely buy and sell private property in honest, fair and efficient markets. At NAR, we constantly work towards these goals by continually raising our professional standards. This insures the real estate agent’s role as a trusted, independent advisor.The agent must be the most knowledgeable person at the table if he or she is to remain at the center of the real estate transaction. As the enablers and guarantors of a safe and efficient real estate transaction the agent must be able to advise on multiple topics – from home inspections to financing options, from marketing to home decorating. Above all, the agent must be a good listener and often a personal counselor. This is not to ignore the role of technology, because our clients certainly don’t. But in the end our value as agents is in creating relation- ships in order to help people make one of the largest and most important investments in their lives. An App can’t do that. For a moment let me share some issues facing the US real estate market. In the United States the cost of real estate investments is rising. In the past two years we have seen the highest rate of increase in home values ever. This is because of limited inventory and our changing population. With this said, the number of contracts, however, fell for the10th consecutive month in every region of America. But make no mistake, this is not from lack of demand, but lack of inventory. In fact demand has never been higher. This demand comes from both ends of the population. Baby Boomers, the second TALEN SOM TIDLIGERE PRESIDENT I NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (NAR), STEVE BROWN, HOLDT PÅ LANDSMØTET DEAR DELEGATES, IT'S A GREAT PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO STEVE BROWN! Steve is an award-winning broker with more than 40 years of experience in the Dayton market in the state of Ohio, USA. As one of two owners, he has built up the real estate company Irongate Inc Realtors, with 350 brokers and 600 million dollars in sales volume. Throughout his career, Steve has dedicated much of his time to working for the interests of the brokerage profession, both locally in his own state and through a wide range of positions of trust in the world's largest trading organization, the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In 2014, he was the president of NAR and the leader of an organization with more than 1.5 million members. NEF has for several decades had a good collaboration with NAR. Steve has become a good friend of ours in NEF. Through our many meetings, we have come to know Steve as a wise and warm person, with a deep and lifelong commitment to the industry and a great care for his colleagues and fellow citizens. I have invited Steve to share some of his perspectives on the industry with us. Welcome to Norway and NEF, Steve!
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