AgentSpot is the Newest HAR Member Benefit Just introduced as the newest HAR member benefit, AgentSpot gives HAR members important added exposure to consumers visiting HAR.com. AgentSpot is a member ad that displays in various places in HAR.com where agent information is not normally displayed. These ads are available in two categories: Area-Specific and Organic. When setting up your AgentSpot listing, you will need to enter one to five ZIP codes corresponding to your sales territory. These ZIP codes will determine where you will display when Area-Specific ads are shown. For places where AgentSpot may show, but an area is not yet selected, a listing will be chosen automatically from the list of all available agents who have opted into AgentSpot. AgentSpot has four requirements: a member photo, creation of an agent website, a member profile and activation of LeadConnect. For more information, please see

New Form Required for Off-MLS Listings Recent rule changes approved by the HRIS Board of Directors now require the listing agent to submit to MLS a “Seller Authorization to Exclude Listing from MLS” form signed by the broker, agent and seller in cases where the seller elects to NOT list their home in the MLS within three days of the List Date as required by MLS. The form is intended to protect agents and brokers from potential risks that may later surface after the transaction has been completed (e.g., upon reflection, a seller believes they did not get the highest sales price because it was not exposed to the broadest market and they were unaware). Utilizing the form makes it clear that the decision to NOT list a property on the MLS is that of the seller and that he or she has been fully informed of the issues related to not listing their home in the MLS. This form is now available in the HAR Forms Manager under Form No. 300 and will be available soon in the ZipForms HAR Library.

Houston’s Homebuilding Boom Expected to Last a While There is more new home construction going on in Houston than any other city in the U.S., and the building boom is going to intensify in the next few years before some softness occurs in 2018, a national housing consultant predicts. "Construction is growing much faster here than anywhere else and the economy is much stronger than anywhere else," says housing consultant John Burns, who heads Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Houston had more new-home starts last year than the entire state of California, he says, and it will continue to be the nation's top spot for building for a long time. Burns was in Houston last week to address developers, home builders and real estate brokers at the Urban Land Institute's Suburban Marketplace conference. Burns notes that Houston's new home prices are at an all-time high. He says that with the economy strong and the supply of new homes very tight, home prices will continue to rise, probably about 5 percent this year, followed by a 4 percent gain next year. "With only a three months supply of houses on the market, prices have to go up," Burns says.

Census Bureau Confirms What We Know The U.S. population is shifting to the South. From 2010 to 2013, 51 percent of the population increase in 52 major metro nationwide occurred in the South, according to Census Bureau data. In comparison, the West accounted for 30 percent of the increase, followed by the Northeast at 11 percent and the North Central (Midwest) area at 8 percent. The Census Bureau data also shows that nearly 785,000 more people moved to major metro areas in the South than moved away. That’s far more than the 170,000 domestic migrants who moved to major metro areas in the West. On the other hand, the Northeast lost 485,000 net domestic migrants while the Midwest lost 280,000. The largest growth in domestic migration was to Texas. The Census data showed the largest domestic migration growth between in Dallas- Fort Worth, followed by Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Denver and San Antonio. In terms of population growth, the New York metro area retains its top position, but two Texas cities have crept into the top five. Dallas-Fort Worth (6,810,913) overtook Philadelphia (6,034,678) to become the fourth largest metro area, and Houston (6,313,158) ranks number five. For more information, please see

Weekly HAR Market Stat As more springlike weather settles in across Houston and around the country, so does the likelihood of a brightened housing market. In Houston, that means the promise of a greater supply of housing inventory and the seasonal effects of spring home sales. Here is the latest snapshot of local market performance. In the Houston region, for the week ending March 30: New Listings decreased 0.2% to 2,204 Pending Sales increased 21.3% to 2,126 Closed Sales decreased 16.5% to 1,725

Questions? ext. 6 Open Your Mind to Learning Register at 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