SIOUX FALLS, SD Renter Nation®, the leading grassroots advocate for America’s more than 100 million residential renters and a powerful voice for the renting lifestyle and the benefits of multifamily living, was strongly critical of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) current television ad campaign depicting homeowners as having smarter kids, better families and higher self-esteem than renters.
The NAR’s unprecedented attack against renters is being featured on television stations throughout the country and is available on the internet.
Renter Nation’s CEO Bill Deegan, in denouncing the NAR’s onslaught, said that the video campaign is “based on false facts, is self-serving and discriminatory and must be challenged.” Mr. Deegan said that his group is tired of renters continually being depicted in popular culture and the media as second-class citizens. “Renters are hard-working, contributing members of American society. To be depicted as somehow being deficient in our ability to raise our kids, have loving families or suffer from low self-esteem is blatant nonsense.”
Mr. Deegan pointed to independent studies conducted by the Wharton School of Business which revealed that when controlled for income, homeowners are no happier, no more involved in their communities, no healthier, and were just as satisfied with their family life as renters. “In this day and age, I can’t imagine anyone singling out a group of people for derision because of their choice of housing. The NAR wouldn’t assassinate the character of African-Americans, Latinos or other minority groups, so why distort the facts concerning renters except for their own self-serving interests?”
Renter Nation champions renters and multifamily housing. “We support not only our 100 million plus constituents but the renting lifestyle. We are for more and better multifamily housing and support tax and administrative policies favorable to renters and the providers of housing. Multifamily just makes more sense from the viewpoint of sustainability, environmental impact, allocation of tax dollars as well as providing greater choice, flexibility and freedom,” Mr. Deegan said.
Steve Crawford, Renter Nation’s COO added that the group “will work with other leading advocates of multifamily housing such as the National Multi Housing Council, the National Apartment Association, state and local apartment associations as well as the more than 50,000 state and local renters associations to fight the prevailing negative depiction of residential renters in our society and culture. If not us, who? If not now, when?” he concluded.
Click Here to See National Association of Realtors TV Ad
Click Here to See Wharton School of Business Study
Founded in 2009, Renter Nation is a unit of Sioux Falls, South Dakota based Media Demographics, Inc. In addition to Renter Nation, the company is engaged in several other internet and targeted marketing initiatives.