The Houston Association of REALTORS® is making headlines! Here’s a look at some of the media coverage our organization has received over the past few weeks.
HAR’s April 2020 MLS Market Update – reporting on the early impact of COVID-19, which hurt sales and rental volumes, but did not affect pricing – generated coverage from mid- to late May in the following media outlets:
- Bellaire Essentials
- Community Impact Newspaper
- CultureMap Houston
- Examiner Newspapers
- Houston Agent Magazine
- Houston Business Journal (online and print editions)
- Houston Chronicle (online and print editions)
- Houston Community Newspapers
- Houston Public Media / KUHF 88.7 FM
- KHOU-TV / 11 News
- KPRC-TV / Local 2
- KRIV-TV / FOX 26 News
- KTRH / NewsRadio 740
- KTRK-TV / ABC 13 Eyewitness News
- Realty News Report (RNR)
The NPR national news magazine “Hear & Now” cited HAR’s new Weekly Activity Snapshot in a May 14 story profiling how some of the nation’s largest housing markets were responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporter Peter O’Dowd noted positive response to HAR’s introduction of virtual open houses.
KHOU-TV / 11 News reporter Grace White produced a story that aired in the 10 p.m. news on May 14 about how the HAR Board of Directors voted to contribute funds to Crime Stoppers’ reward offer for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspect(s) in the 1983 murders of three Realtors®. The story featured an interview with MLS Board Vice Chair Chaille Ralph.
The Jewish Herald-Voice published a front-page feature on May 14 about HAR’s introduction of virtual open houses as a means of letting consumers tour property listings without health risks.
RISMedia included HAR MLS data in its May 18 roundup of how America’s largest housing markets were performing in the earliest phases of the coronavirus crisis.
Houston Chronicle real estate reporter R.A. (Rebecca) Schuetz’s story about the infamous “foot fetish creep,” who has harassed Houston-area Realtors® for years, published on May 19. HAR worked closely with Schuetz over the course of several months to provide background information and facilitate interviews with HAR members targeted by the suspect.
The Houston Chronicle’s Schuetz also published a story on May 26 about Houston’s tight residential market prompting bidding wars. She cited one of HAR’s earliest Weekly Activity Snapshots in her reporting.
HAR’s Weekly Activity Snapshot gained ever more traction on May 27 as veteran Houston Chronicle real estate reporter Nancy Sarnoff wrote an entire story about the struggling Houston housing market based on the MLS data provided for the week ending May 25
Community Impact Newspaper reporter Eva Vigh interviewed former HAR Chair Vicki Fullerton and cited HAR data for a story about COVID-19’s impact on housing markets across Montgomery County. The article published on May 27.
Houston Chronicle features reporter Gwendolyn Wu interviewed HAR Vice Chair Jennifer Wauhob and HAR board member Tim Surratt for a May 29 story that provided consumer tips on shopping for a rental property in the midst of a pandemic.
Houston Agent Magazine editor Kerrie Kennedy cited data from HAR’s Weekly Activity Snapshot in a June 3 story about local homebuilding activity.
On June 3, Houston Chronicle real estate reporter Nancy Sarnoff cited MLS data from HAR’s final Weekly Activity Snapshot of May which showed the first spike in home sales since the coronavirus pandemic began.
KRIV-TV / Fox 26 News credited HAR for a swift and proactive response to racist comments that three HAR members posted to their individual Facebook pages in the wake of national protests stemming from the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The story, by veteran reporter Damali Keith, was broadcast in the 9 p.m. news on June 4.
These stories and more are available in the HAR Online Newsroom at www.har.com/content/newsroom as well as in HARConnect.
