May 2010

Chairman’s Corner

Greetings!   Clients, consumers and your fellow REALTORS® will have three questions in the back of their minds when they engage you in business. First, they will ask, "can I trust you?" Secondly, "do you know what you are doing?" Finally, "do you care about me?" The answers to these questions can be found in the “3 C’s” of Character, Competence and Caring.

ABoR is pleased to announce our involvement in the MLS Domains Association, a non-profit association working to secure the use of .MLS as a top-level domain. Set to apply in late 2010, the MLS Domains Association will work with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to secure the .MLS, so that Multiple Listing Services (MLS) will be eligible to sign up for domain names such as Austin.MLS. Because .MLS will be available solely for MLSs, securing the .MLS will help MLSs differentiate from others who have been using “MLS” as a part of their domain names in the past but are not officially linked to an MLS. Click here to learn more.

Gear up to take your involvement with your professional membership association to the next level by participating on one of ABoR’s committees. ABoR is currently preparing to launch our search for volunteers, with an open call for committee assignments expected to begin on June 1. Your involvement on one of these committees is a great way to build your business connections. There are a variety of committees for you to become involved with, and with so many choices, there is a group to fit your specific interests. Look for more information on committee assignments to head your way in the coming weeks.

For as little as $400, you can attract the attention of the local real estate community on your business. How? It’s simple. Sign up to be an exhibitor at Realty Round Up 2010: Spread Your Professional Wings on October 27. Realty Round Up, ABoR’s annual tradeshow, is the largest of its kind in Central Texas and a great venue to showcase your business.

The deadline to reserve your booth at Realty Round Up for the lowest price is June 30. View all of the details on how to sign up by reviewing this year’s Exhibitor Prospectus.  Additional partnership and advertising opportunities are also available for the tradeshow.

For more information on Realty Round Up, contact Gina Willemsen at 512-454-7636, ext. 1601. We look forward to seeing you at the show!

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) has updated their website with new features and information, and reminds licensees to keep an updated e-mail address on file. Recently added to the agency’s website is an updated set of frequently asked questions regarding standards and enforcements. Topics range from advertising to commissions to property management and feature “a more comprehensive explanation of those enforcement and legal questions that are most frequently posed to agency staff,” according to a TREC press release. A “word search” tool is also available to help you locate the information you need.

Additionally, TREC has created an analysis of real estate exams to show how individuals are performing on the salesperson, broker and inspector exams. These reports can be used by experienced REALTORS® and brokers to see which areas of their expertise might be beneficial to share with new REALTORS®.

TREC has also extended a reminder to licensees to make sure the agency has your most up-to-date e-mail address. As the agency moves towards communicating more by electronic means, it will be vital for you to make sure the agency has a current e-mail address on file. Update your e-mail address with TREC today.

According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, the volume of Austin area home sales in March 2010 was 1,784, up 27 percent from the same month in 2009. The median price of real estate in the Austin area remained unchanged in the same time period at $180,000.

“Though we’ve seen increases in year-over-year sales volume consistently in recent months, it’s likely this substantial increase in volume is related to the impending expiration of the homebuyer tax credits on April 30,” said John Horton, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®. “What’s most encouraging, however, is that in the midst of this increase in sales volume, our real estate values have remained steady, which bodes well for the long-term value of real estate in Austin.”

Sales of condos and townhouses were particularly strong in March 2010, increasing by 129 percent to 215 sales as compared to March 2009. This follows sustained increases in demand for this property type since September 2009 and a year-to-date increase of 86 percent.

View the complete Austin housing market report online.

In this month’s Legal Topics column, Don R. Hancock, J.D., of Hancock and McGill, L.L.P., discusses the
ins-and-outs of private transfer fee covenants. Read the complete article online.

The ACTRIS Advisory Committee made important decisions regarding two critical issues – short sales and owner phone numbers – at their April committee meeting. The question of how to list short sales in the MLS has been at the forefront of many of your minds. The advisory committee has determined that AC (Active/Contingent) will now be an acceptable status for short sale listings, in addition to PB (Pending Taking Backups) or P (Pending). All three of these options will allow sellers’ agents to continue marketing properties while communicating that there is a contract in the works, and thus, avoiding any surprises for buyers’ agents and their clients.

Additionally, the ACTRIS Advisory Committee determined that owner phone numbers will remain removed from listings that are taken off the market and updated to an Expired (X), Withdrawn (W) or Sold (S) status. After further examination and consideration of the feedback received, the committee determined that the ruling was best left as-is. However, they are researching options that would provide brokers with control over whether or not to display owner telephone numbers. Look for more information as these options are explored.

MarketLinx is expected to roll-out the upgraded version of our MLS – MLXchange 5.1 – this month. The new version will bring numerous enhancements that provide members with access to new features and increase the functionality of the system. ABoR does not anticipate any downtime to occur because of the upgrade. However, MarketLinx has informed ABoR that some users may experience difficulty installing their ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer 8. Instructions on how to combat this issue, should it arise, can be found online. Your normal daily use of MLXchange will not change because of the upgrade, but you will notice the new features that are now available.

Mark your calendars for the annual TREPAC Wine Tasting on August 19 and ensure you don’t miss out on one of the most well-attended fundraisers of the year. Set for 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Central Market, located at 4001 North Lamar Boulevard, this event is an opportunity for you to mingle with your fellow REALTORS®, show your support for the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee (TREPAC) and enjoy palette-pleasing wines. Look for more information as the event date draws closer.  

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected recipients for the Retrofit Ramp-Up Awards. Those selected for the awards will receive funding from the Recovery Act to complete their retrofit projects. According to a press release from the Department of Energy, the projects are set “to ‘ramp-up’ energy efficient building retrofits.” Austin was awarded $10 million to help fund the Austin Climate Protection Retrofit Program. Another Texas town, San Antonio, was also selected to receive $10 million. Click here to learn more and read the U.S. Department of Energy’s full announcement.