Among those on Inman News’ latest list of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders were some familiar NAR faces, starting with 2013 president Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif. I profiled Thomas in the latest issue of REALTOR® Magazine.
Also included on the Inman list was NAR CEO Dale Stinton. For Stinton, the Inman recognition came on the heels of another award: In November he was named Executive of the Year (large organization category) in the Best in Biz Awards. That award recognized the association’s progress in such activities as broadening member engagement at the local, state, and national levels of government through the REALTOR® Party Initiative; creating REALTOR® University; and launching the Realtors Property Resource, a rich national database of real estate property information.
NAR’s Lawrence Yun, senior vice president of research and chief economist, and Nobu Hata, director of digital engagement, also made the Inman 100 list. In addition to being one of the most popular draws at NAR conferences, Yun writes a regular column for REALTOR® Magazine. Hata is a former chair of the magazine’s Young Professionals Network Advisory Board. On seeing the news, Hata jumped on to Facebook to say he share the honor with Heather Elias, director of social business practice for NAR, and Pamela Geurds Kabati, NAR’s senior vice president of communciations. Hata and Elias, both former practitioners, joined the NAR staff at roughly the same time and were hired by Kabati. Hata, the public face of NAR’s social media presence, is frequently on the road to teach social media best practices to NAR members. Elias is behind the scenes ensuring that those best practices and implemented within the organization.
Steven Berkowitz, CEO of Move Inc. and Errol Samuelson, president of REALTOR.com, also made the Inman 100. The list was released Friday, the final day of Real Estate Connect in New York.
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Heather Elias is a social media and blogging whiz. Brian Copeland gets many of his clients through videos that highlight neighborhoods in his market. The Corcoran Group has effectively used geolocation apps to raise its business profile.
Does that mean you should be using Facebook, video, or location technologies to boost your business? Maybe — it depends on your own unique interests and skill sets, said Jeff Turner, president of Zeek Interactive, who presented at the MRIS Xplode conference in Silver Spring, Md., this morning.
Most real estate professionals have probably felt a bit overwhelmed at some point in the past decade by all the technology tools that have been introduced over that span. While they should be open to trying new things, they shouldn’t feel the need to do it all, Turner said.
“Marry the tech that works with your specific skill set,” he said. “That’s what will make you successful.” Continue reading »

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