Every Tuesday morning (or some other day of the week for some of you) you attend the weekly sales meeting at your firm. The sales managers try to keep the meetings informative but fun; brief but long enough to convey important information; conversational but educational.More

Bob Hale, CEO of the Houston Association of REALTORS®, joins InmanTV to discuss the hot-button issue of consumer-facing property listings sites provided by MLSs. [more]More

One of the most frequently asked questions by HAR members is how they can market their properties and themselves better. This conversation invariably leads to talk of the Internet.  [more]More

HAR recently released the NEW 2007 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers, which is packed full of useful information about your clients in the greater Houston area. [more]More

A recent Houston Chronicle article titled "County taking homebuilder to court over public placards" reported that Harris County has become more aggressive with its enforcement of the bandit sign law. [more]More

After January 1st, failure to be fingerprinted before the deadline to renew your license means that even if you renew, you will be on inactive status and you will not be able to conduct real estate activity until you are fingerprinted and go through the steps to get your license back on active status.More

The Houston Association of Realtors® is making headlines! Here’s a look at some of the media coverage our organization has received over the past few weeks: [more]

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It is a pretty well known fact that REALTORS® spend about 95 percent of their time in their vehicles. And in order to prevent delays when meeting a client, a REALTOR's vehicle must be dependable.
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In what amounts to incredibly bad news for anyone using the Internet on a Windows machine, Microsoft has announced that the ubiquitous JPEG file format can now be exploited to allow complete access to your system to any hacker who figures out how to take advantage of this vulnerability.
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Members of the Asian American Real Estate Association recently held a home buying fair in the heart of Houston's Chinatown, at the Sharpstown Recreation Center, to educate the Asian community about purchasing a home.More

Unfortunately, as Realtors®, we are becoming more and more aware of this problem everyday.  IDENTITY THEFT, it’s the fastest growing crime in America today and it can happen to anyone.  More

Bob Hale, president of the Houston Association of Realtors®, was a prominent speaker in the annual conference of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, which was held in Houston in May.More

Recent surges in crude oil prices have sent prices at the gas pump to all-time highs.  Car-dependent Realtors® may be grumbling about paying more, but with home sales surging, no one seems to mind the cost.More

Members of the Texas Association of Realtors® are eligible to apply for a special Valero/Diamond Shamrock fleet fuel card, where they can receive money back on gas they purchase.More

Dallas native, Alphonso Jackson was recently named the nation’s highest ranking housing official. More

With interest rates continuing to stay low, chances are this year's summer selling season will be a busy one. 

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The real estate industry has been slow in developing an industry-wide standard of quality. More

The National Association of Realtors® has a new home – a striking new mid-rise office tower near the U. S. Capitol building.More

How many times have you worked with a client family to find the home of their dreams only to find out they cannot obtain financing or they can obtain financing but cannot pay the down payment or closing costs?More

America was founded on the principle of fair and just taxation.More

Credit scoring has become the most significant factor in securing a mortgage loan.  However, many buyers fail to identify problems with their credit before it is too late.More

Housing Opportunities of Houston, Inc. (HOH), has written a curriculum to educate the residential real estate professional how to promote and grow their business utilizing the City of Houston Homebuyer Assistance Program.More

Realtors®, if your customers are playing a waiting game deciding whether to buy, the Harris County Housing Finance Corporation (HCHFC) has made the decision easier with a program that proves the adage "timing is everything.”More

Recently the Commissioner of Insurance adopted revisions to Procedural Rule P-53 which concerns items of value offered by title companies.More

Leaders of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) recently elected to relocate their national headquarters to Houston, TX from San Francisco, CA.More

RE FormsNet today announced the national launch of the Safe-Calling Compliance Kit for real estate professionals, which aims to help brokers and real estate office managers train their personnel to comply with the safe-harbor provision of federal do-not-call regulations.More

The world's greatest personal marketing plan can still be a flop if the message is ill-conceived or the materials are poorly produced.More

In the past and even today many Realtors® are reluctant to use any of the Housing Opportunities of Houston, Inc. (HOH) products or services due to past experiences or from "hear-say" that HOH takes too long to process the file or that they always run out of money on the day of closing.More

We've been facing this issue for 11 years, and for 11 years we've been successful.  Actually, we've been so successful, that our own members think we may be crying wolf – well, we're not…More

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If you’re in some kind of management (even managing yourself), you’re probably discovering that the way managers managed in the past just won't cut it for the future.More

Two years ago, Julie Greenwood and Linda King acquired the Chase Bank building at 3201 Kirby, which houses one of their offices, with a bold vision in mind: to create a residential "real estate central" for the city of Houston.More

Several years ago Realtors® were worried the Web would dramatically increase the number of people who would be able to sell their home without the assistance of a Realtor. The truth of the matter is good news for us and bad news for FSBOs.More

Public support for Realtors® improved dramatically over the past year, more than during any other 12-month period in the six-year lifespan of the National Association of Realtors®’ Public Awareness Campaign, according to the results of an annual survey of consumers conducted to measure the advertising campaign's effectiveness.More

Should your client be interested in buying a home within the Houston city limits, the City of Houston Homebuyer Assistance Program may be a product that your client can use if they meet the program guidelines.More

On July 13, 2003, the New York Times ran an article titled "Showing Real Estate Brokers the Door."  The article singled out the Houston market stating, "Real estate brokers looking for greener-carpeted pastures full of 4br/2bt/nukitch/gdschools dream houses may want to skip Houston, if  a new survey is correct."More

After increasing consumer complaints regarding unwanted and uninvited residential telemarketing calls and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) initiative to establish a national do-not-call registry, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finalized its rules relating to the national Do-Not-Call Registry, DNC, effective Oct. 1, 2003.More

A pre-purchase home inspection is very important in the home buying process.  During our HOH five-hour pre-purchase homebuyer education class we explain to potential homebuyers the intention of the pre-purchase general home inspection is to provide the buyer with useful information about the condition of the residence and identify major deficiencies in the home's structure, its systems and components.More

All over the country, property casualty insurance has become increasingly more expensive and more difficult to obtain. Mold, natural disasters, market-share competition, terrorism and the roller-coaster stock market are just a few of the issues that have insurers a little nervous. As a result, in many markets – including Texas – insurers are increasing premiums, declining to write new policies and refusing to renew existing ones. More

The purchase pattern of second homes in the first quarter of 2003 shows a strong interest in investment properties, with a sizeable percentage of buyers owning or buying a second home, according to the National Association of Realtors®.More

The CCIM Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors® and a leader in commercial investment real estate education, will grant scholarships to minority real estate professionals in the Houston metro area for an introductory class September 4 and 5.More

The Realtors® Political Action Committee was the largest PAC contributor to federal candidates for the third straight cycle, Federal Election Commission figures show.
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Information that can make your client's homes more attractive and energy efficient.More

Let's make something clear at the outset. My ignorance of real estate is exceeded only by my ignorance of what women want. This column isn't based on any personal observations but rather on what two women who design homes for a living say women want.
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National Association of Realtors® members wanting to differentiate themselves from non-Realtor real estate licensees recently snagged more than half the supply of the Realtor "R” pins given away by NAR as part of its "Realtor Pride” campaign.More

Homeowners insurance reform is a hot topic during the 78th Texas Legislative Session, and the Texas Association of Realtors®' public awareness campaign is going strong.More

The Asian American Real Estate Association of Houston officially launched its Web site for use by consumers and real estate professionals.
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How do I safely dispose of old paint and pesticides?

Many of you have probably heard a variation of this question from a client who wants to buy or sell a home. Or perhaps you have purchased property with rusted cans of paint stacked in a corner of the garage or an abandoned barrel of mysterious substance in the back lot of your investment.More

Michael Berry provides an update from City Hall.More

 It has been reported everywhere - the Houston Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times - the high-end sector of real estate is softening across the country, and Realtors are receiving many mixed messages.More

Welcome to the third installment of my City Hall update.More

On Sept. 7, 2001, our beloved HAR member Nancy Owens lost her third battle with breast cancer.More