The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business In This Week’s “The EDGE” A FRESH Look at Houston Housing Houston’s “Best Oil Downturn Ever” Houston Market Movements Earn Yourself a New Designation “The Edge” is a weekly tool for managers to use to inform their agents and stay current and up-to-date with important real estate industry issues. Brought to you by the HAR Communications Department.

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business A FRESH Look at Houston Housing Here is HAR’s First Real Estate Snapshot of Houston (FRESH) report on the latest trends in the Houston housing market, as of January 31, The complete monthly MLS report for January 2016 will be distributed next Wednesday, February 10. As always, HAR will provide you with updated coverage in The EDGE.

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Stewart Title Chief Economist and former HAR Chairman Dr. Ted C. Jones recently presented his much-anticipated annual economic forecast for the Houston market. He called the current climate the region’s “best oil downturn ever.” For those who missed the presentation, HAR-TV caught up with Dr. Jones and asked him for a recap. Watch it online here.here You may also access Dr. Jones’ original presentation on HAR Connect.HAR Connect Houston’s “Best Oil Downturn Ever”

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business We're just into 2016, so it's a bit early to say how the spring and summer markets are going to fare based on a few weeks of trend analysis, but for the most part, the year has begun as expected. There are some nibbles of new listings being added to the market while the overall number of homes for sale has some work to do in order to give this year the real steam it deserves. In the Houston region, for the week ending January 24: New Listings increased 12.3% to 2,479 Pending Sales increased 13.4% to 1,651 Closed Sales increased 2.7% to 902 Houston Market Movements

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Graduate, REALTOR ® Institute (GRI-2 Marketing) 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 consists of Seller Services, Buyer Services, Technology and Environment & Green Building. 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. Make sure to have your license number. TAR provides a one-time, $50 coupon for qualifying students. This coupon may be downloaded from the TAR website. Students pay full price and the coupon to HAR’s Professional Development department to receive a credit. All other courses are full-price. Date: February 18, 19, 22 & 23 Location: HAR Montgomery Time: 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Investment: $295 Register at Call ext. 6www.har.com/edu Earn Yourself a New Designation