LUBBOCK ®
REALTOR www.lubbockrealtors.com
JUNE 2014
Phone (806) 795-9533 Fax (806) 791-6529 5015 Knoxville Avenue, Lubbock Texas 79413-4039 2014 Board Officers
APRIL MONTHLY MARKET COMPARISON
Nancy Rawls, President Rusty DeLoach, President Elect Charles Kearney, Treasurer
Categories
May 2013
May 2014
Percent Change
Total Residential Property Sales
427
361
-15.5%
Total Residential Dollar Volume
$65,309,195
$58,397,155
-10.6%
Jef Conn, Secretary Coby Crump, Chairman of the Board
Average Single-Family Sales Price
$152,949
$161,765
5.8%
DIRECTORS Cynthia Arriaga , 2013—2014
Median Single-Family Sales Price
$129,500
$129,950
0.3%
Leigh Anne Brozo, 2014—2015
Total Active Residential Listings
1,150
990
-13.9%
Vanessa Dirks, 2014—2015
Total Pending Residential Sales
334
617
84.7%
Frank Harmon, 2013—2014
Months Inventory*
3.8
3
-21.1%
Jacky Howard, 2013—2014 Larry Jones, 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, 2014—2015 Nathan Jordan, 2014—2015 Jeff Sellers, 2014—2015
Year-to-Date Comparison Categories
Jan-May 2013
Jan-May 2014
Percent Change
Susan Shakespeare, 2014—2015
Total Residential Property Sales
1,658
1,632
-1.6%
Dan Williams, 2013—2014
Total Residential Dollar Volume
$251,588,605
$258,143,645
2.6%
Jana Wuthrich, 2013—2014
Average Single-Family Sales Price
$151,637
$150,185
-1.0%
EX OFFICIO DIRECTORS Tim Garrett, 2014—2015 Regional
Median Single-Family Sales Price
$123,000
$117,000
-4.9%
Vice President and TAR Director Ann Kearney, 2014-2016 TAR Director John Walton, TAR Director Lifetime
No ce on this informa on: Mul ple Lis ng Service data is reported to the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M and the Na onal Associa on of REALTORS® on the eighth of each month. Year-to-date data may be corrected for informa on reported a(er the eighth. Neither the associa on nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the associa on or its MLS may not reflect all ac vity in the real estate market.
Opportunity 2015: Imagine Yourself as a Member of the LAR Board of Directors As a member driven association, governance functions through volunteer leadership. The Board of Directors is the governing body of the association, composed of three leadership positions appointed by the Nominating Committee—President, President Elect and Secretary/Treasurer. It includes twelve elected director positions that serve two-year terms. Six new directors are elected annually on the third Thursday in September (09/18/14). The association is now accepting nominations for 2015 officers and 2015-2016 directors.
Board member responsibilities include: •
• • •
Attendance at monthly LAR board meetings (may not miss more than three meetings to remain on the board), which are usually held on the third Thursday of each month; A commitment to invest in TREPAC (the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee); Serve as an ambassador of the association to promote LAR’s products, tools, education, services and provide information to your firm and other association members; Participation in LAR events through out the year.
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If you or someone you know would make an exceptional MEMBER NEWS leader and are prepared to commit your time, talents and Total Members 872 ( ↑ 9% from projected 2014 membership) passion to make a difference by being a part of the LAR’s 176 Companies │ 696 Salespersons Board of Directors, please submit your name to cadefowler@lubbockrealtors.com. Nominations are anonymous. Nominations must be submitted by July New REALTOR REALTOR Members 31, 2014. Designated REALTORS REALTORS / Companies The qualifications to serve in a leadership position are: Bryan Bednarz Capital Farm Credit DIRECTOR ♦ REALTOR® member in good standing. Salespersons ♦ Holds a valid, active Texas real estate broker or Olga Castillo Minnix Property Management salesperson’s license. ♦ Member of the LAR for at least two (2) years prior to Ed Roup The WestMark Companies election, and served as a member of a standing Dane Swinburn RE/MAX Lubbock committee or task force. ♦ Elected directors cannot serve more than two (2) Katy Phillips Exit Realty of Lubbock consecutive terms. Haleigh Simmons Minnix Property Management PRESIDENT ♦ REALTOR® member in good standing. ♦ Holds a valid, active Texas real estate broker or salesperson license. ♦ Served at least one term as an Officer.
Teresa Richardson
Exit Realty of Lubbock
Cole Whisenhunt
Keller Williams Realty
Kristi Frazier
Amy Tapp Realty
Emily Manning
RE/MAX Lubbock
PRESIDENT ELECT (automatically ascends to President) ♦ REALTOR® member in good standing. ♦ Holds a valid, active Texas real estate broker or salesperson license. ♦ Served at least one term as a Director.
Dana Brown
The WestMark Companies
Tim Roten
Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS®
Kevin Geeslin
Exit Realty of Lubbock
Paul Pharr
Keller Williams Realty
SECRETARY/TREASURER ♦ REALTOR® member in good standing. ♦ Holds a valid, active Texas real estate broker or salesperson license. ♦ Served at least one term as a Director. ♦ Served at least one term as a member of the Finance Committee.
Chris Carpenter
Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS®
Amanda Pichler
Brown Realty
Patty Hartline
Linda Sadler & Associates
Bryce Daniel
Exit Realty of Lubbock
Mindy O’Brien
RE/MAX Lubbock
Darian Padua
Egenbacher Real Estate
Directors presently serving and will continue to serve in Clint Parker 2015 are: • Leigh Anne Brozo – The WestMark Companies • Vanessa Dirks – The WestMark Companies • Nathan Jordan – Century 21 John Walton, REALTORS® • Tara Newton – Keller Williams Realty • Jeff Sellers – The Sellers Realty • Susan Shakespeare – The WestMark Companies
Egenbacher Real Estate (continued on page 3)
Directors presently serving whose terms expire and are eligible to serve as LAR Directors another term: • Cynthia Arriaga – Exit Realty of Lubbock • Frank Harmon – The WestMark Companies • Jacky Howard – Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS® • Larry Jones – Larry Jones Real Estate • Dan Williams – The WestMark Companies • Jana Wuthrich – Exit Realty of Lubbock The Nominating Committee will be interviewing prospective officers and directors August 4—6, 2014. Page 2
Membership Cancellations Salespersons Chaundrea Rhodes
Jerry Kitten Broker
Norv Maples
Century 21 John Walton, REALTORS®
Misty McLean
RE/MAX Lubbock
Emma Bauersfeld
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services
Angela Jones
Keller Williams Realty
Trina Black
Keller Williams Realty
Jeremy Reed
McDougal, REALTORS®
Amy Doty
Keller Williams Realty
REALTORS® on the Move Toy Holland
Keller Williams Realty to Brookshire Real Estate Company
Major Shift in Real Estate Online Realtor.com has announced that they plan to pull the plug on internet portals to focus on their own portfolio of online and offline channels. They are the first of the Big Three (Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia) to make such a move, effectively ending their agreements with all portals, including MSN, so you’ll no longer see Realtor.com-powered listings on various sites across the Internet. The strategy shift means that the company will be focusing on their own mobile and desktop products to drive traffic. This reinforces the shift in thinking that the best proof in the pudding is if consumers actually visit your native website, rather than counting traffic as people who saw your listings somewhere floating around the web.
A shift in tone and wording
Realtor.com operator, Move, Inc. is using phrases like “the most accurate U.S. residential listings,” which saves consumers from the “anguish wasting time with The WestMark Companies to Keller listings that are off the market or priced incorrectly,” Jason Steffan Williams Realty and they assert that their marketing is the effectively Lubbock Discount Realty to Lubbock Real attracting “transaction-ready consumers” to their Jonathan Gaona Estate Group services. Sources inside Move tell us that they’ve been in Keller Williams Realty to Berkshire research mode for some time, and Move, Inc. CMO, Anah Castillo Hathaway Home Services Barbara O’Connor tells us, “In my role as CMO, I’m responsible for driving brand, audience growth and Heather Edwards Exit Realty of Lubbock to Street Real Estate engagement. This strategic shift in our marketing acquisition strategy has been taking place for well over Miscellaneous Changes the past 12 months. My recommendation to shift our strategy was based on key metrics, new channel Keller Williams Realty, cancelled MLS performance testing, and optimization driven by the J’Rae Pineda membership results.” Keller Williams Realty, cancelled MLS We take this to mean that this is not a knee-jerk Doug Duncan membership reaction to any staff changes, and done regardless of former staff potentially knowing their shifting strategy. Keller Williams Realty, cancelled MLS Also regarding timing, because of the confidentiality of Frankie Justice membership agreements with portals like MSN, Move cannot comment as to who initiated the severing of ties, so this could either be a bold move by Realtor.com to focus internally, a reaction to a major portal initiating the end of the relationship, or it could always be mutual. Bernell Wilson
Keller Williams Realty to Stephens Realty
The world is going mobile and the race is on The truth is that consumers are shifting to mobile search through apps, and as for Realtor.com, residential listings viewed on mobile devices overtook the number of views on the desktop site by January 2013, just three years after the launch of their first mobile app. In a statement, the company emphasizes the shift toward mobile, with nearly 60 percent of all Realtor.com residential listings being viewed on mobile apps, citing that mobile consumers spend more time reviewing listings and photos in a single session, “which is a strong indication they are more ready to buy or sell than desktop computer users.” The world is going mobile. Guess who’s winning the mobile race by an insanely wide margin? Zillow. The race isn’t even close, and while there is a behind-the-scenes race between Trulia and Realtor.com for the number two spot, when it comes to mobile, it’s going to take big moves like this to narrow the gap between Zillow that the competitors they’re leaving in the mobile dust. Page 3
What Realtor.com plans to do Instead of sitting on their hands, Realtor.com will be focused exclusively on their own apps and sites and will “regularly enhance native applications for Android, iPad and iPhone as well as create native mobile applications for new platforms.” They will also invest more time and resources into marketing, particularly with their co-branded venture with the National Association of Realtors. “Integrated marketing across all devices coupled with brand awareness not only builds a larger audience, it also creates brand advocates,” said Barbara O’Connor, chief marketing officer of Move, Inc. “Creating an ongoing emotional connection with our brand’s unique ability to deliver accurate, real-time listings is key to growing and retaining our audience. Our advocates reward us with referrals and keep coming back to Realtor.com® for services and information.”
Will others pull the plug? If the focus is now on marketing and mobile and the value of internet portals is diminishing, will the others follow suit or will they slide into Realtor.com’s old spots in hopes of branding or driving traffic? Zillow wasn’t always number one in traffic, and as the ebb and flow of business goes, they may not always be in that spot, but unless Realtor.com and Trulia make more moves of this nature (instead of assuming the tide will change), the gap is going to widen, maybe even at an accelerated pace.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION JULY 9 Date: Wed, July 9 Location: LAR Office Time: 8:30 AM—1:00 PM Breakfast and lunch will be provided Please RSVP to hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com All new members must attend New Member Orientation within the first two times it is offered after joining the association. Failure to attend could result in termination of membership.
.REALTOR—New Internet Domain Coming The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has developed a new website – www.dotREALTOR.org. Because of the wealth of infor mation about Top Level Domains (TLDs) and their complexities, NAR has created one convenient location where you will find everything you need to know about TLDs and the .REALTOR domain.
dotREALTOR.org Site Highlights When available, announcements for the launch of the .REALTOR domain will be made here. The latest news and information about the .REALTOR domain and the hundreds of other TLDs entering the Internet The benefits of having a .REALTOR domain Business rules for domain eligibility Marketing tools to help brokers and associations promote and discuss the .REALTOR domain with your agents/ members How to integrate your .REALTOR domain into your current marketing Background Information ∗ The goal of .REALTOR is to create a name space where home buyers, sellers and investors can go to find the most credible, trusted real estate information, resources and professional services on-line -- and ensure they are working with a REALTOR®. ∗ Only members of NAR and the Canadian Real Estate Association can call themselves REALTORS® and only REALTORS® will be allowed to use the .REALTOR domain in connection with their name. ∗ NAR will provide the first 500,000 members who register with a FREE .REALTOR domain for one year. Members will also have the option of purchasing additional .REALTOR domains at that time. ∗ After the first free domain, pricing for additional domains will start at $39.95 which includes a FREE profile website from Realtor.com® that allows you to integrate content from your social networks and include all your listings. ∗ Discounts for multiple domains and multiple year purchases will also be available. For more information on pricing visit, visit www.dotREALTOR.org. ∗ In future phases, domains will also be made available to state and local REALTOR® associations; association multiple listing services; affiliated institutes, societies and councils; and other NAR-approved licensees. Ongoing Communications Communications to the REALTOR® Family is important to keep everyone knowledgeable about efforts to secure Page 4
the .REALTOR domain, the launch timing and what to do once the domain has been secured. For the most current information, remember to visit www.dotREALTOR.org. We will continue communications via email and notices in the AE INS, Weekly Report, and on social networks. As of January 31, 2014, 78,000 members signed up for the .REALTOR domain pre-registration list. Those members will have 72 hours in advance of the rest of the membership to claim their .REALTOR domain. Emails sent to this group will continue on a monthly basis. The best source for the latest updates and information is www.dotREALTOR.org. Check back often! At this time, we anticipate a launch expected in Fall 2014.
MARKETING FOR YOU, A CHANCE AT $5,000 FOR YOUR CLIENTS! We all know Texas is a great place to call home, but Voice For Texas and TREPAC (Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee) want hear it from the public! That’s what the My Texas Home Video contest is all about. It’s simple—homeowners submit a 30 to 90 second video about why they love their Texas home. The best video wins $5,000 from Voice for Texas— TREPAC, and there are big prizes for second and third place too! Use the My Texas Home video contest as a way to reach out to your clients this July. Not only is this great marketing for you it’s fun and possibly rewarding for them!
TAR Committee Sign-Up...Only 2 Weeks Left Members have until July 7 to volunteer for a Texas Association of REALTORS® committee. Committees meet twice a year—at Winter Meeting in February and at TAR Convention in September. The LAR wants our members to be represented at the state level, so there’s help available to TAR committee members for travel expenses. Go to https:// apps.texasrealestate.com/AB/Committees/ List.cfm to volunteer. For more information and information on recommendations for committees, contact Cade Fowler, Association Executive at the LAR, 795-9533, cadefowler@lubbockrealtors.com.
Advice for Texas REALTORS® Can an attorney buying a property that I’ve listed get a broker’s fee? Q: A prospective buyer is interested in one of my listings. He told me he is a licensed attorney and will prepare his own offer without using a real estate agent. He also asked to receive a share of my fee in the transaction. He doesn’t have a broker’s license. Can I pay him? A: Yes. A broker can share a fee with a principal, regardless of the principal’s profession or license status. However, the broker is not required to do so. A concession of part of the broker’s fee to a principal is a business decision made by the broker. Remember, a broker is prohibited from sharing a commission with an attorney who represents a party in a transaction. In that situation, the attorney would need to seek payment from his or her client. Keep in mind that if you decide to share your fee with a principal who you don’t represent, you must obtain consent from your client to do so. Find more legal questions and answers in the Legal FAQs section of texasrealestate.com.
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2014
Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee (TREPAC) Investors—Levels Reached as of June 28, 2014
Crystal R ($2,500) Lisa Sellers Sterling R ($1,000) Karleen Boyd Rusty DeLoach Ann Kearney Charles Kearney Tony Lloyd Capital Club ($500) Brenda Bennett Michael Berg Bob Brandt Lisa Carswell Judy Cato Coby Crump Joy Daniel Kathy Davis Kelley Elliott Greg Luman Nancy Rawls Winn Sikes Pam Titzell Jana Wuthrich Lone Star Statesmen ($250) Cynthia Arriaga Brian Aycock Wayne Backus Joe Bellar Jef Conn Carolyn Crowson Doug Davis Bill deTournillion Curt Douglass Doug Duncan Shannon Dunlap Vanessa Dirks
Lone Star Statesmen ($250) continued Norma Edwards Brad Elder Linda Ferguson Cade Fowler Linda Gaither Tim Garrett Kent Gamble Ella Glover Tim Grissom Pat Ham Fred Hardin Kendra Harris Jay Herrin Cheryl Isaacs Larry Jones Cindi Lea Jana Longbotham Kathy Marable Mark McMillan Brett Paxton Emily Ratcliff Jerrod Reep Ginger Robertson Jack Robnett Susan Shakespeare Liz Smart Steve Shanklin Shari Straley John Walton Dan Williams
110 Club ($110) Courtney Allen Stephanie Allison Tricia Anderson Lindsey Bartley John Bost Leigh Anne Brozo June Burks Bobbe Crawford Darelene Fillman Rick Fowler Beth Garrett Paul Garrett
110 Club ($110) - continued Mary Ann Grafft Steve Gwinn Ken Harlan Nathan Jordan Nita Kiesling Sharon Lee Larry Leivas Don Lynn Terry Manz Russell McGuire Velma Medina Chase Marberry Joe L. Murfee, III David Myers Jimmy Noland Rita Paxton Rod Reynolds Jim Rosson Ruan Samuels Lela Tackitt Gary Tapp Rachel Townsley Debby Tullis Donna Westfall Cindy Wilkinson Jon Willey
Invest online at www.texasrealtors.com Year-to-Date Investments $53,812 Year-to-Date Participation 54%
Thank You Investors! As REALTORS® and private property owners, you know the value of protecting the real estate industry. That’s why TREPAC is so important. Not only is it an insurance policy on your career, but it makes you the ultimate advocate for your clients, friends and family. Every legislative session, TREPAC fights to protect the interests of home owners a the local, state, and national level including protecting homeowner’s equity, requiring the licensing of mortgage brokers for consumer protection and stopping additional taxes on the sale of real property. For every TREPAC event you attend, like the upcoming Golf Tournament, Casino Night, Bingo Night, etc. your registration goes towards your overall TREPAC investment. So invest today and not only will you save money by defeating fees that take away from your income, but you also show your clients another reason why using a REALTOR® is so important. Page 6
Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Ted Jones Chief Economist, Stewart Title
“Residential Real Estate & Economic Outlook” RSVP to hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com by noon, July 7
Donate to United Way and You Could Win! For every $25 donation, you will be automatically entered into a drawing for these great prizes! Donate $100 and get an extra entry!
1 Tablet (iPad / Microsoft Surface / etc.) 3—$100 cash prizes 2—$250 cash prizes 1—$500 cash prize The drawing will be held at the Sept 11 Membership luncheon, but you do not have to be present to win. You can donate by cash, check or on-line at unitedway-lubbock.org. The LAR will be notified if you donate on-line.
About Dr. Ted Jones:
As Chief Economist for Stewart Title, Dr. Jones addresses the information needs of internal and external customers, conducts ongoing research and supports economic and financial analysis for Stewart Title and their customers. Previously, he served as the first Director of Investor Relations for Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE-STC) for 17 years, ending March 2014. Dr. Jones earned a PhD in Finance with a minor in Statistics and a Master’s Degree in Land Economics and Real Estate from Texas A&M University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University. Prior to joining Stewart he served as Chief Economist at Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center, the nation’s largest publicly funded real estate research group. Before that, he authored and taught the valuation and appraisal section of the Bachelor of Commerce in Valuation and Property Management at Lincoln College, University of Canterbury near Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr. Jones typically gives more than 150 presentations on real estate and the economic outlook each year. Representative real estate groups addressed include the National Association of REALTORS, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, Fannie Mae, the American Land Title Association, The Housing Round Table, Association of University Real Estate Officials, New Zealand Property Management Institute, Employees Relocation Council, GMAC Real Estate, Prudential Real Estate Associates, the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, the American Bar Association, the Association of Real Estate Law Licensing Officials and the National Conference on Unit Value Standards.
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It looks like a great down payment assistance program just got better
Grant Terms Grants of any amount up to 5% of the Loan Amount Buyer does not repay grant; no liens are filed Buyer is not required to contribute any minimum down payment from their own funds Grant funds may be: o applied against Buyer’s closing costs, prepaid items and down payment o used to reimburse Buyer for any prepaid amounts (e.g. earnest money, etc.) or to reduce the loan principal, but cash back is not allowed Eligible Properties New or existing residential properties located in Lubbock and surrounding areas Maximum Sales Price – $250,200 Buyer Eligibility No minimum credit score No maximum debt-to-income ratio No first-time homebuyer requirement “Qualifying” income may not exceed $75,000/year (Actual income may be higher than $75,000, but lender may not use more than $75,000 of Buyers’ income to qualify them for the loan.) Non-purchasing spouses, non-occupying co-borrowers and co-signers are permitted Buyers must occupy the property as their principal residence within 60 days of loan closing Eligible Loan Products/Terms FHA, VA, USDA-RD, Conventional Fixed rate; fully amortizing; any maturity (not to exceed 30 years) Other No program fees charged to Buyer or Seller Homebuyer education not required, but recommended
Call Lubbock Housing Finance Corporation at 806-745-9559 for Additional Information or Contact a Participating Lender
* agency and/or investor guidelines may be more restrictive than Welcome Home guidelines