It’s been three years since Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia have experienced anything like normal economic conditions. In fact, the so-called new normal is evolving faster than some experts can explain what’s happening or why it’s happening.

That has challenged the abilities of businesses and organizations like the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors® (NETAR) to both stay current and to sharpen productivity while offering their clients first-class service and fulfilling its franchise as the voice for real estate in NE Tennessee and SW Virginia. 

It has been enormously satisfying to have taken part in the extraordinary achievements that NETAR made. At the same time, it has been awesome to witness the levels and quality of teamwork that’s often unseen and rarely recognized but accounts for most of the successes in raising the performance bar during this past year of transition.  

The association’s membership has moved past the 1,600-member mark. The number of business partners has also increased. Its role in advocacy for property rights increased, as did the multitude of professional and community service projects. A full list of those community caring projects is longer than the space for this report to accommodate.  

Expansion of NETAR’s technology presence and offering of services and member information to both members and the public has significantly increased. So has its social media presence. 

NETAR was the first association to embrace the concept of regionalism and has been enhancing the real estate profession with that effort for a little over 20 years. We made some gains in our regionalism effort during the past year, and more are on the way. A couple of noteworthy examples are the enhancements to the regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the association’s Commercial Real Estate components and Commercial Market Listing Service (CMLS).  

During 2022, the association grew, as did the local housing market, which now accounts for a little over $3 billion in current dollars to the NE Tennessee economy.  

All of this is testimony that Realtors® and NETAR have unique skills, experience, and qualifications that are assuming increasing roles in today’s workforce, economy, and community leadership.  

Since the chaotic days of the pandemic and through the post-pandemic market explosion, they have demonstrated again and again the ability to learn and adapt quickly with an unrelenting work effort, dedication, and the ability to work under pressure.  

There’s no question that 2022 was a year of success for the regional real estate market and NETAR. Our market faced inventory shortages and still outperformed our previous years. We also outperformed some local and regional markets and have been nationally recognized, and a region where investing in housing is affordable and that the region is a good place to live. Our members invested more money in protecting homeownership than any other year. We attended conventions and conferences helping us be more innovative in serving our clients and customers, and we partnered with many local charities to fill unmet needs.   

Here’s a big thumbs up to 2023 and all it promises to bring.