Happy New Year! When I was first elected as an executive officer of HAR in 2015, I knew HAR was a great Association, but I had no idea of its scope until I really progressed through leadership. As your 2019 chair of the board, I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of so many tremendous leaders who have served as chair in the past.

Even as I may have the title of “chair” for this moment in time, this Association is truly member driven. It is the 39,000 HAR members who make this Association what it is. If you have a suggestion for something you think we should or could be doing, please let me know. I want to hear from you! I’m always accessible by email at shannon@har.com. If I don’t know the answer, I will make sure someone who does will get back with you.

This is that weird in-between time when we are into the New Year, but the final year-end 2018 market statistics haven’t been released yet. What we do know is that we are on track to have another record year. We are still in a seller’s market according to the statistics, but we keep inching up toward a more balanced market. You may read all about the latest market stats on pages 8-11.

I am just coming off of REALTOR® Celebration as I write this, and it was a tremendous event. We were able to honor two very deserving members as REALTORS® of the Year: Mario Arriaga and Jo Ann Stevens. We also honored Houston City Council Members Martha Castex-Tatum and Brenda Stardig with the John E. Wolf Community Service Awards. There are interviews with each of them on pages 28-31 that will definitely show you why they were the recipients.
We are always trying to share tips with our members that will help them be more efficient in their business. Our technology team has some great tips that don’t cost a thing on pages 32-33. Whether it is branded links, reviews or social media, there are lots of cost-effective ways to market yourself and your listings.

As you hopefully know by now, HAR has its #MemberFocusMonday Facebook Live session every Monday morning at 9 a.m. There have been lots of amazing presenters talking about various issues of importance, like flooding, new market entrants, member tools, etc. For some reason, they asked me to be the first guest on Monday, January 7, 2019 to talk about the upcoming year, so I do hope you will log in and watch. I’d love to hear your questions! You can learn more about our Facebook sessions and HAR on the Move podcast episodes on page 15.

As a second generation agent, HAR has played a very large role in my professional life, and is a key factor in my success. I truly care about this Association and industry. I look forward to working with you in 2019. With your help, we can accomplish great things! Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve.

Until next month,

 

Shannon Cobb Evans
2019 HAR Chair