1. Houston Building Permits Are on the Rise Building permits issued by the City of Houston over a 12-month period ending in February rose 19 percent over the previous year thanks to the rapid pace of residential construction, according to a Greater Houston Partnership analysis. Building permits totaled $6.2 billion during the 12 months ending in February, up from the $5.2 billion issued during the 12 months ending in February 2013. The analysis shows that the value of permits for residential buildings grew at a faster pace than commercial buildings. The increase for residential building increased 32 percent (to $2.4 billion). Nonresidential permits rose 12.2 percent (to $3.8 billion). Last month, the City of Houston issued building permits totaling $485 million, a 16.4 percent decline from the total in February 2013. The year- over-year decline was due to a 22.4 percent decrease in nonresidential permit values, according to the analysis. The nonresidential permit values dropped to $181 million, from $267 million. The partnership reported that residential permits increased 4.7 percent to $135 million last month, up from $129 million in February 2013.

2. Weekly HAR Market Stat This spring, investors are expected to play a less dominant role since there are fewer attractive bargains to be had. This allows room for younger families and individuals fed up with rent hikes. The affordability picture has come down but remains attractive, pressured by rising but not fully recovered prices and slightly higher rates. Despite some inventory shortages, several local markets are in balanced territory heading into the peak selling season. In the Houston region, for the week ending March 23: New Listings decreased 2.6% to 2,207 Pending Sales increased 16.6% to 2,082 Closed Sales decreased 4.7% to 1,331

3. Questions? 713-629-1900 ext. 6 Graduate to Higher Learning Register at www.har.com/edu Graduate REALTOR® Institute – GRI-1 Finance The GRI designation is the most widely recognized of the national real estate designations. Consisting of three courses, each is taught by experts in their respective fields. This module offers Finance Theory & Practice, Investment & Taxation, and Cultural Diversity & Fair Housing. GRI courses may be taken in any order and satisfy your 9 hours of non-legal MCE requirements. TREC rules mandate that each student be on time. A calculator is required. Please make sure to bring your license number to class. TAR provides a one-time, $50 coupon for qualifying students who register through HAR.com. Upon entering a user name and password, HAR will immediately verify with TAR that the coupon is valid and the discount will immediately be applied. All other courses are full-price. Date: April 10, 11, 14 & 15 Time: 8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m. Location: HAR Central Investment: $295