CCIM Feature

CCIM Connections

Economic Driver

As the newly elected 100th president of the Michigan Association of Realtors, Bill Milliken, CCIM, CIPS, president of Milliken Realty Co., in Ann Arbor, intends to engage the state’s Realtor community “to broaden its horizons and reach out for international business.” And, according to industry experts, opportunities are plentiful in the Great Lake State. “NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun proclaimed Michigan to be the country’s leading economic comeback state during the Realtor national convention in Orlando last fall,” Milliken says. With the state’s Canadian trade volume at $70.2 billion in 2011, Milliken has reached out to the Ontario Real Estate Association to encourage more commercial and residential/resort cross-border business opportunities.

As a long-time supporter and major donor to the Realtors Political Action Committee, Milliken has seen the impact real estate practitioners have on political efforts at the federal and state levels. “NAR is the largest non-partisan PAC on Capitol Hill and a good deal of its work is on federal legislation affecting commercial real estate, which directly benefits us as practitioners,” he says.

Milliken also plays a vital role in CCIM Institute’s work to forge solid legislative coalitions with NAR and the Institute of Real Estate Management, which offers members a powerful benefit and advantage. “Together we strive to identify emerging issues, conduct research, and post solid policy positions for our members,” he says. “When we rally in Washington, D.C., this spring to meet with our elected representatives on the Hill, these data will give us valuable issue credibility.”

Join CCIM Institute and IREM for the 2013 Capitol Hill Visit on April 10, and learn more about RPAC membership. Milliken was also recently interviewed for a CIRE podcast on legislative advocacy.