LUBBOCK REALTOR® May 21, 2013 Phone (806) 795-9533 Fax (806) 791-6529 5015 Knoxville Avenue, Lubbock Texas 79413-4039 2013 Board Officers Coby Crump, President Nancy Rawls, President Elect Rusty DeLoach, Treasurer Charles Kearney, Secretary Debora Perez-Ruiz, Chairman of the Board DIRECTORS Cynthia Arriaga, 2013—2014
APRIL MONTHLY MARKET COMPARISON Categories
April 2012
April 2013
Percent Change
Total Residential Property Sales
280
354
26.4%
Total Residential Dollar Volume
$39,482,775
$52,722,954
33.5%
Average Single-Family Sales Price
$141,515
$148,935
5.2%
Median Single-Family Sales Price
$111,950
$119,750
7.0%
Jef Conn, 2013—2014
Total Active Residential Listings
1,621
1,115
-31.2%
Mary Ann Grafft, 2012—2013
Total Pending Residential Sales
281
353
25.6%
Frank Harmon, 2013—2014
Months Inventory*
6.6
3.8
-42.4%
Jacky Howard, 2013—2014
*Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months sales activity.
Tara Newton, 2012—2013
Year-to-Date Comparison
Gary Owen, 2012—2013 Jeff Sellers, 2012—2013
Jan-April 2012
Jan-April 2013
Percent Change
Total Residential Property Sales
922
1,221
32.4%
Dan Williams, 2013—2014
Total Residential Dollar Volume
$129,814,531
$184,390,970
42.0%
Jana Wuthrich, 2013—2014
Average Single-Family Sales Price
$141,070
$151,016
7.1%
EX OFFICIO DIRECTORS Cheryl Isaacs, 2011-2013 TAR
Median Single-Family Sales Price
$116,000
$120,000
3.4%
Susan Shakespeare, 2012—2013 Scott Toman, 2012—2013
Director John Walton, TAR Director Lifetime
Categories
Notice on this information: Multiple Listing Service data is reported to the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M and the National Association of REALTORS® on the eighth of each month. Year‐to‐date data may be corrected for information reported after the eighth. Neither the association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the association or its MLS may not reflect all activity in the real estate market.
Volunteer for Texas and National Association of REALTORS Committees The Texas Association of REALTORS® needs you! By volunteering your time, you will help the association to better serve all its members by influencing the actions TAR takes and the services they provide. Your experience and expertise can help lead the way forward. Committee service also provides valuable networking and “first look” opportunities to members who take part. Committee sign-ups are available until July 5th. Visit this page at TexasRealtors.com to learn more about what committee memberships can offer and read committee descriptions to learn which would be the best fit for you. Volunteering for the National Association of REALTORS® committees provides the same benefits at the national level. The deadline to volunteer is this Friday, May 24th! To volunteer: Log on to Realtor.org. Hover over “About NAR” at the top right of the page and click “Governance.” Click “Committees in the upper left hand side of the screen Click “Submit Online Committee Recommendation” On the committee recommendation landing page, click “Enter a recommendation” either for someone you know or a selfrecommendation, which is highly encouraged. You can and should make recommendations for yourself! It is important to complete an “Expertise Profile” to help in the committee selection process. From the committee recommendation landing page, click “Enter Your Expertise Profile” link If you have questions, contact Cade Fowler at the LAR at 795-9533 or email cadefowler@lubbockrealtors.com. Page 1
The LAR is committed to helping our members that volunteer and serve on TAR and NAR Committees with their travel expenses to committee meetings.
“Property Management Issues in the Texas Legislature”
LAR MEMBERSHIP NEWS 788 Total REALTOR® Members 149 First Principal Brokers 639 Salespersons 15 REALTOR® Emeritus Members
1 Hour MCE Course Date: Wed, May 22, 2013 Time: 10:00—11:00 a.m. Cost: Free Location: LAR Office
Membership Applications First Principal Brokers Lama Shoukfeh—Shoukfeh Realty Salespersons
Stacey Zube—Exit Realty of Lubbock Arnold Adams—Atrium Realty Tera Tyner—LubbockHomes.info Randy Mester—Real Living Greg Garrett, REALTORS® Kayl Mitchell—RE/MAX Lubbock Marty Cleckler—The WestMark Companies Joe Webb—Prudential Real Estate Anderson Properties Renita Freeman—Today in Lubbock Real Estate Paige Holland—Lubbock Discount Realty Corey Zant—Progressive Properties Valerie Young—Keller Williams Realty Meredith Trevino—Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS® Drew Nippert—Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS® Lavene Vasquez—RE/MAX Lubbock Aaron Cannon—The WestMark Companies Wylea Brown—The WestMark Companies Tonya Alexander—Keller Williams Realty Cindy Wilkinson—Exit Realty of Lubbock Vikki LeMond—Lubbock Discount Realty Tiffany Enderson—Keller Williams Realty Omar Maqusi—The WestMark Companies
Affiliate Membership Applications First Mortgage Home Lending—Brenda Bennett, representative Membership Cancellations Dano Saenz—Exit Realty of Lubbock Johnny Davis—Lubbock Real Estate Group Office Transfers Stephanie Allison—Real Living Hometown, REALTORS® to Kearney & Associates, REALTORS® Arlen Whitlow—Kearney & Associates, REALTORS® to Prudential Real Estate Anderson Properties Donna Dubose—Kearney & Associates, REALTORS® to Donna Dubose, REALTORS® Bill Francis—RE/MAX Lubbock to Helen Bayer, REALTORS® Gwen Wallich—Keller Williams Realty to Exit Realty of Lubbock Other Changes Emily Peterson, King Realty change to MLS member Magness Real Estate name changed to Wolfforth Real Estate Lightning Real Estate name changed to Walker Investment Realty JMC Realty name changed to Progressive Properties
This free, one-hour MCE course will provide an update on the legislative bills that will affect rental properties and property managers. There is no need to pre-register, just be at the LAR by 10:00 a.m. on May 22. No credit can be given to late arrivals.
“3 Common Topics When Using the TAR Commercial Forms” 1 Hour MCE Course Date: Thurs, May 23, 2013 Time: 10:00—11:00 a.m. Cost: Free Location: LAR Office This free, one-hour MCE course is of particular interest to commercial practicioners. There is no need to pre-register, just be at the LAR by 10:00 a.m. on May 23.No credit can be given to late arrivals.
“Budgeting & Planning for Emergencies” 2 Hour MCE Course Date: Wed, June 12, 2013 Time: 10:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. Cost: $30 for LAR members / $50 for non members Location: LAR Office This two hour MCE course, taught by Financial Coach Greg Pare, will teach you how to plan for financial emergencies that can derail your business and add unneeded stress to your life. This course will provide you with tips and tools to help you budget and plan for emergencies. Register by filling out the form found in Navica under “Resources” and the ’Documents’ link and email to hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com or fax to 791-6429.
Golf Tournament benefitting the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee (TREPAC) Date: Mon, June 17, 2013 Time: 11:00 a.m. Sign in and Lunch, 12:30 p.m. Shotgun Start Location: Hillcrest Country Club, 4011 N. Boston Details: 4 man scramble Cost: $110 per player, includes lunch, green fee, cart, range balls and 2 mulligans Fill out the registration form and email to hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com. You can register as a team or individual and we will place you on a team! We will also be auctioning a Hillcrest Country Club membership worth over $5,000! Page 2
National Association of REALTORS Midyear Meetings & Hill Visits Six officers and members of the Lubbock Association of REALTORS® attended the Midyear Meeting and Hill Visits held May 13 through the 18th in Washington, D.C. President Coby Crump, President-Elect Nancy Rawls, TREPAC Trustee Tony Lloyd, MLS Committee Member Howard Halford, Winn Sikes and Association Executive Cade Fowler were in attendance. Members met with Congressmen Randy Neugebauer and Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, encouraging them to “Do No Harm” to the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID). The MID is an important benefit to home ownership and especially important to those that itemize their deductions, such as REALTORS®. Congressman Neugebauer was also the key note speaker of the opening session, “Real Estate Issues in the 113th Congress: Federal Legislative and Political Forum.” Neugebauer spoke on the importance of introducing private capital back into the mortgage market and reducing FHA’s role as the primary source for obtaining mortgages. Public-Facing MLS Sites as 'Basic' Services At the Board of Directors meeting on May 18, the last day of the 2013 NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., approved a modification to MLS Policy Statement 7.57 to provide additional guidance on the categorization of programs, products, and services as "core," "basic," or "optional" services. The new policy will allow MLSs and associations to categorize the establishment, maintenance, and promotion of public-facing websites as a basic MLS service. The decision to include public-facing websites as a “basic” service came after extensive debate over whether more time is needed to study the issue, but after a 341 to 275 vote against that idea, the modification was passed. This is important for local associations because it allows them to promote their websites and offer it as a member benefit without having to charge additional fees for the inclusion of member’s listings. As part of the modification, MLSs can't change any services they now offer as "optional," such as lockboxes or advertising programs, into "basic" services if they or their shareholders receive an economic benefit from the service. As it relates to the Lubbock Association of REALTORS®, the association receives no economic benefit from renting lockboxes to our members or providing key making services. On another matter, involving REALTOR.com, the Board expressed a commitment to enhancing and broadening the user experience of of the site in response to evolving consumer needs and expectations and authorized the Leadership Team to work with the site to develop recommendations for achieving this goal. The Board will convene in closed session in mid-July to review the recommendations that are developed. This is an important step because REALTOR.com now ranks third on search engines behind Zillow and Trulia. REALTOR.com president Errol Samuelson, in his report to the board, said the site has the most accurate data of all national real estate data aggregation sites but restrictions in its operating agreement with the REALTORS® Information Network (RIN) prevent it from providing the comprehensiveness of data that the other sites provide. Among other things, the site doesn't include FSBOs and in some markets doesn’t provide as many rental and new-homes as are on the market. "We need your help to make sure the site is not just accurate but comprehensive," Samuelson said. RIN is NAR’s wholly owned affiliate through which it oversees its investment in the site. NAR itself owns just 3% of REALTOR.com. In other action, the Board gave the Public Advocacy Campaign a new name—the Consumer Advertising Campaign—to better describe the campaign and reduce confusion with NAR's other public advocacy efforts and it approved the continuation of the program in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Board also approved continuing the $35 special assessment to pay for the campaign over the next three years. The Board took actions in a number of other areas of association policy. Association Budget The Board left the annual dues at $120. The amount includes the $40 set-aside for REALTOR® Party advocacy activities. The association has annual revenue of $152 million plus $8 million in REALTOR® Party reserves. For 2014-2016 budgeting purposes, the association is assuming a membership of 1,010,000. Graduate of the REALTOR® Institute (GRI) Designation The Board of Directors also approved a Professional Development Committee recommendation to reduce from 90 to 60 hours the time commitment for earning a GRI (Graduate of the REALTOR® Institute) designation. The goal is to make the designation more realistic given real estate practitioners' time constraints and adjust to the expectations of younger practitioners. The Executive Committee had sought to delay the reduction to allow time for a more thorough review, but the amendment to delay was voted down. This is disappointing considering the content of the three courses currently required is extremely valuable. Page 3
Reducing the hours will only water down the prestige of the designation. Professional Standards In the area of professional standards, the Board amended the NAR Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual to: Make clear that ethics complainants must be individuals (and not corporations or other business entities), and that complaints cannot be brought in the name(s) of third parties. Clarify that the role of grievance committees is limited to determining whether a complaint should be heard by a Professional Standards panel and to limit their review of material to make that determination. Let hearing panels include information about a member's prior violations. Let associations offer mediation services when a dispute cannot be arbitrated. Improve consistency in the charging of administrative processing fees by requiring associations to determine in advance whether, and under what circumstances, they'll impose the fees. Raise maximum fees for violations of the Code to $15,000 from $5,000, the same maximum fine that MLSs may impose. Expand the scope of Standard of Practice 3-2, which interprets Article 3, to make it unethical to unilaterally attempt to modify offered compensation after an offer to purchase has been submitted to the listing broker. Membership The Board approved a new academic membership category to help the association increase its involvement in real estate studies and bring in those with an academic interest in real estate. The Board also amended the criteria for becoming a REALTOR® Emeritus by requiring at least one year of national service. It also eliminated a little-needed membership category for those who don’t have access to a state-chartered association and association staff. All of these changes to membership categories must be approved by the NAR Delegate Body in November. Also, dues for a student membership category that was adopted last year were set at $25. Legal It approved $135,000 to help a local MLS take action against copyright infringement of its listings, and it gave conditional approval to make $5,000 available to a local board to fight an ordinance requiring licensees to provide zoning information to their customers. The committee leadership wants to be sure the issue is a significant one for practitioners. State and Local Issues The Board adopted a policy taking a stand against the imposition of state and local sales tax to rents and real estate services and other professional services, including real estate broker commissions, title searches, appraisals, home inspections, and property management services, among others. Approved Issues Mobilization funding of $794,400.00 to the Nevada Association of REALTORS® and the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® to support their campaign against the use of eminent domain by local governments to seize performing "underwater" mortgages.
MLS Rules and Regulations Reminder Incorrect information in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) hurts everyone. When inventory is low, it is crucial to update the status of your listings as quickly as possible so that buyer’s agents will know if a property is still on market before their buyer falls in love with it. The MLS Rules and Regulations are created by the MLS Issues and Policies Committee and approved by the Board of Directors for the efficient operation of the Multiple Listing Service. Below are the fines associated with rules and regulations violations: DATABASE VIOLATIONS
1st offense
2nd offense
3rd+ offense
Late Reporting of “under contract” and “sold” statuses Listing agent must report status of “Under Contract” and “Sold” within twenty-four (24) hours after all signatures are obtained.
Warning
$50
$100
Late submission of listing Listing agent must input listing into the MLS system within seventy-two (72) hours after all necessary signatures have been obtained.
Warning
$50
$100
Page 4
Rate Increases Ahead for Some National Flood Insurance Program Policyholders Published by RISMedia Changes are coming to the critically important National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that could impact real estate transactions and property owners across the country. This is according to experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which manages the government’s flood insurance program, who spoke to REALTORS® at the Flood Insurance 101 session during the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings. Kristin Robinson, senior advisor, summarized last year’s Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which reauthorized the NFIP for five years through 2017 so property owners could affordably access flood insurance. Some property owners could find that the insurance may no longer be that affordable. NAR strongly supported the legislation and believes the government’s insurance program saves taxpayers property and money because it increases the number of self-insured properties and reduces the cost of post-flood disaster governmental assistance. The NFIP is responsible for writing and renewing flood insurance policies for more than 5.6 million home and business owners in more than 21,000 communities nationwide where flood insurance is required for a mortgage. Before Congress passed the legislation, the program operated under short-term extensions. In the past five years, there were 18 extensions and several lapses in program coverage, resulting in delaying or cancelling thousands of real estate transactions daily, wreaking havoc on real estate markets. Robinson said the NFIP is $24 billion in debt following several disastrous storms in recent years because the costs and consequences of flooding continue to increase. “For decades the program has made flood insurance available at subsidized rates that did not reflect the true risk of flooding; artificially low rates and discounts are no longer sustainable,” she said. Andy Neal, actuary, addressed the gradual phase-out of subsidized rates, which was included in last year’s legislation to preserve the flood insurance program and critically important property insurance coverage for the nation’s homeowners. Neal said rate subsidies are being phased out over the next several years to help increase the NFIP’s soundness and financial stability. The majority of policyholders, more than 80 percent, are not subsidized and won’t be impacted by subsidized rate changes since they are already paying full actuarial rates, he said. However, these owners could see routine annual rate increases. “Only about 20 percent of NFIP policies receive subsidies, mostly older structures built before the community’s first flood insurance rate map was issued, which are known as pre-FIRM properties. Some of these policyholders will be impacted by the gradual phase-out of subsidized rates; an even smaller number will see immediate changes to their insurance policy rates,” Neal said. Rate changes are likely to affect owners of subsidized pre-FIRM non-primary residences, business properties, and properties that have experience severe repetitive flood losses. Owners of some pre-FIRM condos and multi-family units will also see their rates gradually increase. Owners of pre-FIRM primary residences will retain their subsidies unless policy lapses; it suffers a severe, repeated flood loss, or it’s sold to a new owner, which is retroactive to July 6, 2012, when the legislation was enacted. Some grandfathered principal residences will also lose their subsidies over a several year period, but not until the communities’ flood map is revised. Neal recommended that home and property owners talk to their insurance agent to determine if their property is currently being subsidized. He said flood insurance rates vary based on a property’s location, elevation and flood risk and can be as low as a few hundred dollars up to $10,000 or more if the property is well below flood level and had severe repeated flood losses. While higher rates may place a greater burden on families, there are investments homeowners can make to either reduce or better access their flood risk so they can continue to protect their families and possessions from damaging floods. According to Neal, homeowners can lower their risk by elevating their property and potentially reduce their flood insurance rates by having an elevation certificate completed to determine the property’s elevation relative to the base flood elevation. Elevation certificates can cost several hundred dollars to complete but could potentially lower homeowners’ flood insurance premiums. Since homeowners with flood insurance policies have already received quotes for higher rates, which may be caused by several other factors such as improvements to mapping. As FEMA improves its mapping technology and draws more accurate flood maps, some homes may now be located in a flood zone, or a higher risk zone, where flood insurance is more expensive. Also, some insurance agents may adjust rates to correct previous mistakes made about the home’s features when they are reevaluating an insurance policy at renewal. Page 5
The Lubbock Association of REALTORS® Hosts
BUDGETING & PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES June 12, 2013 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. TWO (2) Hours MCE Credit
Most people are not prepared for financial emergencies. This is especially true for real estate agents. Learning to budget will make your life easier and reduce stress. You will leave this class with tools and tips to help you budget and plan for emergencies. Cost: $30 LAR members $50 non‐members Location: LAR Office – 5015 Knoxville Ave Instructor: Greg Pare Provider: 0429 Course #: 02‐00‐045‐25495 Registration: send this form to the LAR, attn Holly McBroom, fax 806‐791‐6429, e‐mail hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com
Registration Information Name:
License #:
Phone: Email: Payment: Check Cash Visa MC Amex Disc Name on Card: Card #:
Exp:
Zip Code:
Cancellation and class attendance policy: A full refund will be given if cancelling at least forty‐eight (48) hours prior to the class start. You must arrive prior to the class start time, and stay in class while it is in session. Those who fail to arrive on time or attend will forfeit the class fee and will not receive MCE credit. No exceptions will be made regarding this policy.
LAR
L u b b o ck A s s o c i at i o n o f R E A LT O R S ® 11th Annual D o u b l e Te e G o l f To u r n ey Benefiting: Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee Date: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:00 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m.
Place: Hillcrest Country Club 4011 N Boston Sign-In and Lunch Driving Range & Putting Green Opens Shotgun Start Awards & Prizes and hors d’oeuvres
Individual Entry - $110.00 (includes lunch, green fee, cart, range balls, and 2 Mulligans) __________________________________________ NAME
TEAM Entry e t th l y a l e rtis ll Ho 3. e v a C 953 ad t to ent? , 795 n a m s W rna tail tou or de f
- $440.00 (includes above amenities for each team player) __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME
Please return or mail completed form and total funds due to the: Lubbock Association of REALTORS 5015 Knoxville Avenue Lubbock, TX 79413 Questions? Call Holly McBroom at 795-9533 or email hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com.
TOTAL ENCLOSED: $_____________ (Checks payable to TREPAC)
& Live t Silen ns tio Auc