One of the most exciting things that will probably happen during my year as chair of the association is about to come to fruition. HAR.com is going statewide. This project was not taken lightly by the Board of Directors or the leadership for the past couple of years, as the idea developed over time. REALTORS® are much stronger when we are united, and what’s good for Texas REALTORS® is good for Houston REALTORS®. You may read more about it on pages 26-29.

How low can you go? That is not just part of the lyrics to “Born to Hand Jive” from “Grease.” It is also true of our months’ inventory in this market. We have been at 2.6 months of inventory since December 2013. Eventually, we are going to need more listings to sell to keep up the pace of sales from last year. Pending sales are up, which is a positive, but we definitely need more people to put their homes up for sale. You may read all about the current market here.

If you ever want to have impact in the voting booth, runoff elections are where it’s at! With voter turnout for runoffs consistently in the low single digits, your voice can be amplified by voting in a runoff. In fact, a couple of years ago, one of our recommended candidates won her runoff election by one vote. Your vote really does matter. You may find out more about the candidates HAR is recommending here.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I care passionately about education. I teach agents to try to help make them better and generate more business. HAR provides so many excellent professional development opportunities, and there are a multitude of courses available in the next two months. You can choose among the Social Media Pro, Graduate REALTOR® Institute, Certified Negotiation Expert, or many others. Check them here, and sign up for one today.

I was honored last month to attend the 2014 T3 Conference, which is an interactive industry leadership experience. It discusses all of the big issues that many others are afraid to even mention in polite conversation. It talks about the things that we at HAR actually discuss regularly though. One of the biggest discussions was about the changing role of a REALTOR®. This was also consistent with our most recent HAR Consumer Research Panel findings. No longer do clients rely exclusively on their REALTOR® to find the house they will buy. It is all of the services that are provided after the house is identified that continue to make a REALTOR® valuable in the real estate transaction. You may read more about the T3 experience here, and you will continue to read more from us about the changing value proposition in the future.

Until Next Month,

Chaille Ralph
2014 HAR Chair