Company: National Association of Realtors, Chicago, IL
Company Description: NAR is the country’s largest trade association, with 1 million Realtor® members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. It strives to be the collective force influencing and shaping the real estate industry.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Affairs

Nomination Title: National Association of Realtors® Home Ownership Matters Campaign

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

As a real estate industry leader, the National Association of Realtors® works to ensure that Americans who aspire to homeownership continue to have access to resources and programs that will help them achieve that goal. In 2011 to confront a challenging economic and political environment, NAR launched a multifaceted, comprehensive campaign to persuade policymakers and consumers that Home Ownership Matters…to people, to communities, to America.

NAR took the Home Ownership Matters campaign directly to consumers with a multi-city national bus tour. Over nine months, the Home Ownership Matters bus traveled more than 12,000 miles through 33 states and 60 cities. The tour reached a wide audience and generated an impressive array of media coverage that included news articles, broadcast segments and news release pickups that resulted in 55.1 million media impressions, with an estimated value of $8.1 million.

While the Home Ownership Matters bus was reaching people in communities across the country, the campaign’s efforts were also focused on national policymakers to help keep homeownership accessible and affordable for thousands of American families. For example, the Federal Housing Administration plays an important role in helping people into homeownership – today nearly 3 in 5 first-time buyers purchase their homes with an FHA-insured mortgage. In 2011, NAR persuaded policymakers against increasing FHA’s down payment requirement to 5 percent. Because of NAR’s advocacy efforts, 345,000 borrowers remained eligible for FHA loans.

When FHA loan limits were set to increase if Congress didn’t extend them on September 30, 2011, NAR convinced Congress that this would hurt consumers and stall the nation’s economic progress, obtaining a two-year extension for the FHA loan limits. Our work to reinstate these higher loan limits impacted consumers in 669 counties across 42 states.

When Realtors® first heard about a federal rule that would have required onerous down payments for many mortgages and overly rigid credit standards, NAR immediately jumped into action. NAR spearheaded efforts to oppose the rule by creating the Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy, a diverse coalition of 47 consumer organizations, civil rights groups, lenders, real estate professionals, insurers and local governments.

If this rule were implemented, 25 million current homeowners would be unable to refinance into a lower rate mortgage, and the average American family would have to save for 16.5 years to accumulate a 20 percent down payment. The coalition generated more than 10,000 consumer letters to the federal regulators, who agreed to revisit the proposed rule.

The Home Ownership Matters campaign also extended into NAR’s national advertising efforts. Throughout 2011, NAR developed and placed television and radio advertising explaining the need to keep housing first on the nation’s public policy agenda, because housing and home ownership issues affect all Americans.

Throughout 2011, NAR made significant progress to ensure that people in this country will continue to have access to the American dream of homeownership well into the future. The Home Ownership Matters Campaign combined grassroots efforts with national advertising, public affairs outreach and lobbying to achieve this goal.

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Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Dale Stinton is Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Realtors®, America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million residential and commercial members. A 31-year veteran of NAR, Stinton directs the association’s strategic agenda and key investments. Stinton is credited for his proactive efforts ahead of the market downturn, driving the launch of innovative member benefits, programs, and education. Stinton has been consistently named among Inman’s 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders, was selected as one of Smart Money’s “Power 30 Most Powerful and Influential Players” in 2010, and was named a top association CEO by CEO Update.