SEPTEMBER 2011

Dear Member,

I am happy to introduce to you ABoR’s newest committee—the ABoR Ambassadors.

The Austin Board of REALTORS® understands that the best way to get feedback from the membership is to go out and ask. While ABoR has conducted surveys and exercised other means to find out what members need, we believe we can get even better information by having REALTOR® members ask other members what they think. So, we have put together a group of REALTORS®, the Ambassadors, who will be calling on you and your offices to find out what you are happy with at ABoR, what you think needs some work and what is just not working  The Ambassadors will bring that information back to the Board of Directors for review, and then decisions will be made to see if and how that feedback can be incorporated into the programs and products that ABoR delivers to you through your membership.

The Ambassadors will also deliver the latest ABoR news, including what is new, what to look for in the future and events going on at the Board. The Ambassador initiative is designed so that you can get the most of your ABoR membership. 

We hope that our Ambassadors can reach our members by visiting them at their offices, online through the Learning Communities program and upcoming events at ABoR.

We want you to know that we appreciate your membership at the Austin Board of REALTORS®, and we are here to serve you. Please allow our Ambassadors to reach out to you—this is just another way to make our organization Members First, Member-Driven!

Judith Bundschuh
Chairman of the Board

ABoR’s Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Matthew W. Maire, CAE, RCE as the new CEO of the Austin Board of REALTORS®. The Executive Committee was successful in reaching an agreement with Maire, who will take on the role beginning November 1, 2011. More details about the new ABoR CEO are listed on Abor.com. Please join us in welcoming Mr. Maire to the Austin Board of REALTORS®.

Back and better than ever, Realty Round Up: Flashback to the 80s is one event you don’t want to miss. Scheduled for October 26, 2011, this year’s trade show is filled with career-boosting events, including a variety of educational sessions, access to the latest products and services designed specifically for the real estate industry and a keynote presentation from Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. With so many exciting opportunities, you don’t want to miss out on the 2011 Realty Round Up. Purchase your $15 ticket today to secure your spot at one of the largest real estate trade shows in Central Texas.

Your ticket provides you access to many of the Realty Round Up events, including Gaines’ report on current economic conditions, upcoming trends and expectations for the 2012 housing market. You will also be admitted to the official Realty Round Up after party, hosted by the Austin Young Real Estate Professionals (AYREP) and the Austin Board of REALTORS®. Lastly, purchasing your ticket grants you access to all the educational opportunities. While MCE credits won't be offered during the Realty Round Up program, you can learn valuable information by attending a variety of abbreviated educational courses throughout the day.

Select booths and partnership opportunities are still available. To review a full schedule of events, booth registration details and partnership information, visit the official Realty Round Up page.

Realty Round Up: Flashback to the 80s will take place at the Austin Convention Center, located at 500 East Cesar Chavez St., Austin, Texas 78701. Your ticket will be available for pick-up at the ticket registration booth on the day of the event. For additional information, contact Gina Willemsen at 512-454-7636.

The 2012 Leadership Academy application is now available. Recharge your leadership and professionalism skills at this eight-week course, which will feature specialized sessions, including spokesperson training, planning for success, creating balance and diversity among us. Next year’s Leadership Academy will begin at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa on January 19, 2012 and will run through May 10, 2012. The cost for each participant is $375, and NAR scholarships are anticipated for applicants from the following groups:

• Austin Young Real Estate Professionals (AYREP);
• Non-profit Association of Hispanic-American Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP);
• Asian Real Estate Professionals;
• Certified Residential Specialist;
• Women’s Council of REALTORS® (WCR);
• Central Texas Commercial Association of REALTORS®;
• Certified Commercial Investment Member; and
• National Association of Residential Property Managers.

Take your career to the next level by applying for the 2012 Leadership Academy by November 30, 2011.

The MLS system arms REALTORS® with the tools they need to successfully serve clients in buying and selling real estate. Avoid interruption with the vital MLS system by submitting your semi-annual participation fees by September 15.

Your MLS subscription now spans far past basic MLS access, including tools and services like Fusion MLS, ABoR Mobile MLS, Mobile Edit, ValueMap, ListHub and free MLS training courses.

Submitting your payment by the deadline will also prevent late fees or reinstatement fees. You should have received your invoice in mid-August. For more details, contact ABoR’s Membership Department at 512-454-7636.

Seize the Day at NAR’s Conference and Expo in November

Plans for the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo: Seize the Day are already underway. This year’s conference will be hosted in Anaheim, California from November 11–14, and is packed with educational sessions, inspirational speeches, special events and limitless networking opportunities with an anticipated 18,000 REALTORS®.  Register for the 2011 NAR Conference and Expo today to advance your career, especially since members who attended in 2010 earned an average of $23,251 more a year than those who didn’t attend.

According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, 1,973 single-family homes were sold in the Austin area in July 2011, a 32 percent increase from July 2010. During the same time period, the median price for Austin area homes was $196,750, resulting in an 11 percent decrease when compared to July 2010.

Judith Bundschuh, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, commented, “We can now compare month-to-month sales activity to a market that is not influenced by last year’s homebuyer tax credits.”

View a complete Greater Austin Housing Market report.

ABoR wants to remind REALTORS® to work closely with Homeowner and Neighborhood Associations to ensure a seamless working relationship between the community organization, your clients and you. Rule 11 of the REALTOR® Code of the Ethics states “Be knowledgeable in the field of practice in which you are engaged.” Homeowner and Neighborhood Associations usually have information on deed restrictions, and other rules and regulations that may significantly impact the sale of the property. Recently, prospective buyers of four Travis County properties in the Imperial Valley Neighborhood Association did not receive information on deed restrictions and were told “there are no restrictions,” which was not true. Properties in sections 1 and 2 of the Imperial Neighborhood Association are subject to deed restrictions, especially with commercial use and building manufactured housing. We strongly encourage members meet with the officers of the Homeowner or Neighborhood organizations to avoid difficulties for their clients and themselves. For more information, contact the Government Affairs Department at 512-454-7636.

In this month’s Legal Topics column, Don R. Hancock, J.D., of Hancock and McGill, L.L.P., reviews some issues that may come up regarding lender-required repairs under TREC contracts.

Your ACTRIS membership provides you with dynamic mobile tools from Goomzee, including Mobile MLS and two text codes to promote your listings, which are all a part of Goomzee’s basic Realty Connect service.

Mobile MLS provides members with agent MLS access on-the-go through web-enabled mobile devices. Take advantage of this access when you’re showing properties and drive by a property with a sign in the yard that your clients have to see. What if you don’t have the listing report? Well, with Mobile MLS you can retrieve the showing instructions and owner’s phone number all from the palm of your hand. Want to know what else is available in the area? Find out with the “Nearby” map feature on Mobile MLS. To access Mobile MLS on your mobile device, use your Abor.com login (password is lowercase).

The Realty Connect basic service includes a text messaging tool, which uses property codes to post on sign riders or print ads, prompting potential buyers to send you a text message from their cell phone. Within seconds, the buyer automatically receives property information including address, pricing, comments and your contact information. You then receive instant alerts, via email or text message, with the lead’s phone number and the property about which he or she inquired. To activate a Realty Connect “campaign” for your listing, log-in using your Abor.com credentials (password is lowercase).

ACTRIS negotiated with Goomzee to give you a chance to “test drive” the premium features in Realty Connect through July of this year. Now that the trial period has ended, ACTRIS members may contact Goomzee directly to access the premium service. The premium service includes QR codes, pictures, additional text codes and a branded mobile listing search tool. ACTRIS members pay a discounted price of $19.95 per month for the premium service.

More information about all of the basic or premium services and a webinar training schedule is available on Goomzee’s website. Goomzee support is available at 406-542-9955. To learn more about your complete MLS toolbox, visit ABoR’s MLS Tools web page, or stop by the Goomzee booth at Realty Round Up on October 26, 2011 at the Austin Convention Center.

ACTRIS is pleased to announce the release of Realist 2.0 BETA, the redesigned MLS tax system from CoreLogic MarketLinx. Realist 2.0 offers the same reliable tax data as Realist Classic, with new features that deliver comprehensive information and a more dynamic way to look at the real estate market.

The new property-centric system integrates tax and MLS data, photos and community information to provide a holistic view of properties, comparables and market trends. Search results are displayed on a map, and thematic mapping tools present foreclosure, sales, boundary and property information, plus school districts, zip codes, parcel boundaries and points of interest. With more information returned on your search queries, Realist 2.0 provides new insight to analyze and understand the market.

Realist 2.0 is currently available in MLXchange under Resource “SmartLinks” and on the property report screen. Realist 2.0 will run in parallel with the current Realist Classic until January 2012, allowing time for beta-users to report errors, ACTRIS to communicate changes and MLS subscribers to learn about the new system.

To submit feedback, discuss the product with other members and view online tutorials, visit the Realist 2.0 BETA online Learning Community.

Be sure to visit the Realist 2.0 booth at Realty Round Up for a product demonstration and more information.

The myth that President Obama’s healthcare reform bill contains a 3.8 percent tax on all real estate transactions continues to circulate via email among the real estate community. The rumor is based on a capital gains tax in the Affordable Care Act that would apply to a portion of the gain on the sale of any capital asset (including real estate). It applies only to individuals with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of more than $200,000 a year or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly, and would apply only to a portion of the sales profit in excess of $250,000 or $500,000 for married couples. It is not required for all real estate transactions and will affect very few home sellers. The revenue collected by the tax is dedicated to the Medicare hospital insurance program.

The new Medicare tax will begin on January 1, 2013. This legislation does not alter the mortgage interest deduction, and it is not a transfer tax. Learn more about the 3.8 percent Real Estate Transfer Tax Myth on NAR’s website.

Thank you to the more than 200 ABoR members and guests who attended the August 18 Wine Tasting at Green Pastures. You helped raise more than $11,000 for TREPAC. Pictures of the event can be found on the ABoR Facebook page. Thank you to Christine Choate of Horizon Realty and Bill Johnson of Allied Home Warranty for being our event advertisers.

The last call to raise TREPAC funds ends September 30, 2011. Read below for investment opportunities.

• Limited advertising opportunities are still available for the REALTOR®-packed ABoR TREPAC Golf Tournament at Balcones Country Club on September 26. Thank you to dynaConnections, Capital Title, SRI Monogramming, NARPM Austin Chapter and IESI for advertising with TREPAC!

 

• Become a $110 Club TREPAC investor by October 26 to gain access to the ABoR TREPAC VIP Lava Lounge at Realty Round Up.

Learn how to prevent costly computer security breaches by attending a free one-day workshop on September 29 from 10:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m. at ABoR, hosted by ABoR and the National Association of REALTORS®.

ABoR members have the opportunity to learn about critical information security issues from instructor Matt Cohen, who has helped establish Clareity as the leading real estate information security auditing company. The workshop will offer useful real-world lessons from Cohen’s field experience and will discuss a range of topics that will benefit brokers, agents and their IT staff.

The first half of the workshop is ideal for everyone regardless of technical expertise and then the program gradually becomes more technical in the afternoon.

Learn how to prevent harm to your professional brand and maintain customer trust by attending the Real Estate Information Security Essentials Workshop. Visit the workshop event page to register for this informative course today.

The average agent spends approximately seven hours preparing for the listing presentation to sellers; however, agents rarely spend this amount of time with the buyer when reviewing agency disclosure. Both the buyer and seller need to be knowledgeable about the same information. Led by Marcie Roggow, participants will learn the key to preparing both parties for the transaction at Will the Real Buyers’ Agent Please Stand Up on September 16. Register for this course to learn how to better inform your clients about buying and selling real estate.

ABoR members also have the opportunity to learn more from Roggow at the following courses: Case of the Missing Disclosures on September 15 and Negotiating with Multi-Cultural Clients on September 16.