Margie DorranceHouston Association of REALTORS®

2010 Chair of the Board

Rotary Club of Houston

• HAR is the largest individual membership association in Houston with about 23,000 members.

• It is also the largest local REALTOR® association in the country (overtook the Long Island Board of REALTORS® in August 2009)—and we haven’t looked back since…

• Its website, HAR.com, generates an average of about 1.5 billion hits from more than one million unique visitors every month.

• It is the only website that is local in scope that regularly ranks among the top 25 real estate websites in the country.

What is HAR?

Houston Has the Largest Local REALTOR® Association in the U.S.

What Does HAR Do?

• HAR educates the public about the real estate market and

promotes the value of using the services of a REALTOR® in a

property transaction.

• HAR also advocates on behalf of property owners and REALTOR® members by representing their interests when communicating with our elected officials.

• It also develops new tools and services that our members may use to help them be more efficient and effective in their jobs.

Houston Sales Have Held Up Better than U.S.

Houston Home Sales Have Picked Back Up; Up 26.7% in April

April Numbers Showed Great Strength

Steady as She Goes in Houston

Sales Began Dropping in Early 2007

Months Inventory Continues to Show a More Balanced Market

Active Listings Stumbled…But Are Heading Up Nicely

Prices Tapered Off, But Have Begun Rising Again

New Homes Sales Through MLS Peaked in 2006 But Still Strong

Permits Peaked in Summer 2006 But Are Coming Off Their Lows

The Houston market has withstood the national pressures

We are only about 10% below the historical norm

Houston’s market benefitted from the federal income tax credits

The greater Houston market lost more than 100,000 jobs last year, but our unemployment rate remains below the national average—AND we are gaining jobs so far this year.

Prices have held up, with a dip early in 2009 largely attributable to the tax credit.

Most economists say to expect weak Houston job growth in 2010

Home sales are increasing—and prices are currently rising.

Interest rates rising during the year to as much as 7 percent by the end of 2010 according to both Dr. Ted Jones and Dr. Barton Smith

Houston will continue to outperform the U.S.

We may see a 10 percent increase from the 2009 level in new construction—total construction will still be half that of recent years.

Thank you!margie@har.com

http://www.slideshare.net/HARCommunications