First, I want to congratulate all of the newly-elected members of the 2020 HAR Board of Directors. It is no small obligation to give the amount of time that our directors do, so they are to be commended. I also want to welcome Thomas Mouton with RE/MAX Exclusive as the 2020 Secretary/Treasurer for HAR. All of the leaders for next year are committed to leading this organization with integrity and with each of our members in mind. You may see a list of the new executive officers and directors Here.

The MLS statistics for July were all in positive territory, as the sales price measurements rose to new records for the month, and the number of transactions broke the all-time record. The rental market also showed strength with double-digit gains for both single-family homes and condo/townhomes. In all more than $3.1 billion of properties were sold through the MLS in July. You may read all of the stats Here.

The is the last call for nominations for the REALTOR® of the Year and John E. Wolf Community Service Awards. You will find the nomination forms here. You can nominate someone who you think is deserving and can even nominate yourself. The qualifications are listed on the nomination form, and the deadline to submit is September 10, 2019, so don’t delay!

Also, don’t forget to purchase your tickets to HAR Engage 2019, which will be held on October 23, 2019, at the Norris Conference Center in CityCentre. As always, there will be amazing speakers from across the country who will provide marketing ideas, tips for sales success, useful tech tools and more. You may see more of the line-up Here.

If you haven’t heard the term “iBuyer” yet, then you haven’t been paying attention. It is probably the most frequent topic of discussion on real estate social media, as well as at industry conferences. Opendoor, Offerpad and Zillow Offers are all operating in the Houston market, so we wanted to ask them some questions to understand their businesses a little better. Hopefully, you will find it insightful, as I did. You may learn more about iBuyers Here.

Most of the laws passed during the Texas legislative session go into effect on September 1 following the end of the session. There were some big changes made, so make sure you read here to find out what they were. One of the biggest things for us as REALTORS® is the new Seller’s Disclosure statement that requires more in-depth information about past flooding of the property. That form is already available on HAR.com and goes into effect on September 1, 2019.

Until next month,

Shannon Cobb Evans
HAR Chair