Housing Starts at Six-Month High

1
Housing Starts at Six-Month High

• Single-family housing starts nationwide reached a
  six-month high in August, according to the latest
  report from the U.S. Census Bureau, rising 7.0
  percent from July to a seasonally adjusted annual
  rate of 587,000.
• The new report is a marked difference from the
  month before, when the homebuilding industry was
  largely carried by the surging, if somewhat
  erratic, multifamily homes sector.
• Single-family authorizations, which are contracts
  for new single-family homes, were up 3.0 percent
  from July to a rate of 627,000, while
  single-family completions rose 0.5 percent to a
  rate of 573,000.
• Its also worth noting how dramatic the
  year-over-year increases are for single-family
  home construction. For single-family, housing
  starts are up 9.7 percent year-over-year, permits
  are up 22.5 percent and completions are up 17.2
  percent.

2
Real Estate Agent vs. REALTOR

• Since 2011, the HAR.com Consumer Research Panel
  has provided HAR members with information
  designed to help perform more competitively.
  Confusion about the difference between a real
  estate agent and a REALTOR is among the many
  survey findings available at http//www.har.com/co
  nsumerresearch/.

3
HAR Tool of the Week

• Real Estate Community
• Real Estate Community allows consumers and
  REALTORS to ask questions, post answers, share
  facts, opinions and personal experiences with
  each other.
• Asking Questions Community members can ask other
  community members questions that they are seeking
  answers for. Designate a topic/category to make
  it easier for other community members to find and
  answer it. 
• Providing Answers Community members can provide
  answers to open questions posted by other
  members. Your answer may be chosen as the best
  one, earning you extra points and increasing your
  user level.
• Alert Notifications Sign up to receive daily
  alerts containing a list of new questions that
  have been posted in your favorite categories. Be
  the first to answer open questions to increase
  your ranking within the community. You may
  disable the notifications at any time.
• To encourage participation and reward great
  answers, Real Estate Community has a system of
  points and levels. The point system allows
  everyone in the Real Estate Community to
  recognize how active and helpful you have been.
• More about Real Estate Community
  http//www.har.com/answers/dispPointsChart.cfm

4
Weekly HAR Market Stat
For several weeks, markets across the country
have seen consistent gains in sales, prices and
percent of list price received at sale. Things
like steadily low rates, less lender-mediated
inventory and increased consumer confidence are
all helping this reality. Each and every week
reveals signs of a recovered market that are
going from temporary yard sign to permanent road
sign. Heres to hoping for prosperous signs on
the road ahead.   In the Houston region,
for the week ending September 15 New Listings
increased 9.9 to 2,069 Pending Sales increased
25.1 to 1,687 Closed Sales increased 6.0 to
1,326
5


Open Your Mind to Learning
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) Completion
of the Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES)
designation course is an essential step for
REALTORS to understand the distinct real estate
goals, concerns, and needs of seniors today. This
course looks at key differences in housing
options, from age-restricted communities to
age-in-place design to assisted living
applications of the Housing for Older Persons Act
(HOPA) the ins and outs of reverse mortgages
the use of pensions, 401k accounts, and IRAs in
real estate transactions and developing a team
of senior specialists, including estate planners,
reverse mortgages lenders, clutter and staging
specialists and more. THIS COURSE FEE INCLUDES
YOUR 99 FIRST-YEAR DUES FOR SRES. Date
Monday Tuesday, Oct. 7-8 Time 830 a.m.
430 p.m. Location HAR Central
Investment 179

Questions? 713-629-1900 ext. 6
Register at www.har.com/edu