A FRESH Look at Houston Housing

1
A FRESH Look at Houston Housing

• Here is HARs First Real Estate
• Snapshot of Houston (FRESH)
• report on the latest trends in the
• Houston housing market as
• of February 28, 2015. The
• complete monthly MLS
• report for February will be
• distributed next Wednesday,
• March 11. As always, HAR
• will provide you with updated
• coverage in The EDGE.

2
Stewart Tax System to be Removed

• Stewart Tax discontinued tax services for MLSs in
  early 2014 (announced to HAR members in early
  2014).
• HAR contracted with Corelogic for the Realist tax
  system which went live in March 2014 as a
  replacement for the Stewart Tax system.
• HAR has continued to provide access to the
  Stewart Tax system for the last year solely for
  members to access MUD Bond Information.
• All MUD Bond Information that was previously in
  Stewart Tax can now be accessed directly from
  Tempo and Fusion.
• All features and information that were previously
  included in Stewart Tax are now available in
  Realist.
• Free hands-on training for Realist may be found
  at www.har.com/edu.

3
Houston Market Movements

• Rumors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could
  become a thing of the past have people wondering
  about the future of the 30-year fixed-rate
  mortgage. But let's not sound the alarm just yet.
  A drastic change to lending's gold standard is
  certainly not on the immediate horizon.
  Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
  seems to have no immediate interest in raising
  interest rates for the first time since 2006. The
  economy remains stable for the time being, which
  should keep housing rolling through the
  short-named months.
• In the Houston region, for the week ending
  February 22
• New Listings increased 13.9 to 2,226
• Pending Sales increased 20.5 to 1,904
• Closed Sales decreased 14.9 to 1,020

4


Calling All Leaders!
2015 Texas REALTORS Leadership Program (TRLP)
Application Deadline is March 20! Due to its
overwhelming success, HAR is once again offering
the opportunity to take part in an extensive
eight-month leadership program.  Each session
equips REALTOR members with the tools necessary
to grow both personally and professionally. Topic
s Include Business Planning Time Management
Life Balance Spokesperson Training Leading
Across Differences Understanding Your
Leadership Style Conflict Resolution/Risk
Management Future Planning Team Building
(Overnight Retreat) Law, Legislature
Leadership (Austin bus trip) Applications for
the 2015 TRLP are available at http//bit.ly/1zj7P
2Y, below the video player. You may also contact
Rita Blevins at [phone] ext. 263 or via
email at rita_at_har.com to request an application.