Early-bird Savings Ends March 2!
2012 Greater Tulsa Commercial Market Update and REALTOR® of the Year Luncheon
GTAR members pay just $60 through March 2; after that, price goes up to $75. Event is Wednesday, March 14, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Tulsa Renaissance Hotel. Brokers from area companies will provide an in-depth review of activity in each commercial market segment—office, retail, industrial, land/development, and multi-family—over the last year, as well as a forecast for the coming year to help identify trends and determine growth areas. In addition, certain segments will feature an owner/investor who will highlight one specific project, either just completed or currently in development, and discuss why the Tulsa area was chosen, as well as why the specific property or building was chosen to buy, lease or develop. Executive Director of Downtown Development, Tulsa Metro Chamber, Delise Tomlinson will wrap up the session with a special presentation on all the exciting development happening in downtown Tulsa.
New this year: The GTAR Commercial REALTOR® of the Year Luncheon will immediately follow the Commercial Market Update. Enjoy lunch while listening to Tulsa City Councilor, Blake Ewing talk about development of the Blue Dome and Pearl districts in downtown Tulsa, as well as his plans as Tulsa City Councilor. Then, find out who will be named the GTAR Commercial REALTOR® of the Year for 2011; this honor is awarded to a commercial member, nominated by his or her peers, who promotes the interest of the commercial real estate profession, the community, and his or her clients. The Commercial Market Update is open to ALL members—residential and commercial. Event Details and Registration Form
2011 GTAR Award Recipients
Congratulations to Rexiene Reynolds on being named 2011 REALTOR® of the Year; Corrie Egge on being named 2011 GTAR Sales Associate of the Year; Lesha Mathes on receiving the 2011 President’s Award; Dick Ruprecht on receiving the 2011 Committee Chair Award; and Penny Roth receiving the 2011 President’s Outstanding Service Award. Helen Allen was recognized as a GTAR Life Member.
Party Pics: 2012 GTAR/NORES Installation & Awards Banquet
Over 380 GTAR members attended the annual banquet on February 16 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Relive it or see what you missed—courtesy of Obeo—http://www.obeo.com/707941. Thank you 2012 Banquet Sponsors for making this event possible.
EDUCATION:
March 6
If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, What’s a Bad Picture Worth? According to the 2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, 98% of home buyers who searched for a home on the Internet found photos to be among the most useful features of REALTOR® websites. In this new course, Dennis McFeely will help you enhance your skills utilizing digital cameras, software editing applications, and Internet hosting platforms to effectively and professionally market your listings. Class is 1:00-4:00 p.m.; OREC approved for 3 hours elective CE credit; course details and registration online at tulsarealtors.com.
March 8
In this new course, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) form will be discussed in detail with emphasis on the new guidelines and how it will affect real estate professionals; the additional guidelines, Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), pertain to how the URAR form is to be completed. Starting in March, Fannie Mae will require all reports submitted to them for purchase to be compliant with the new guidelines. Class is 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. OREC approved for 3 hours required HOT CE credit; course details and registration online at tulsarealtors.com.
April 4-5
RAD Conference Update
Theresa Stewart’s two brokerage management classes will be: The 360` Manager and Managing Into the Future; both are pending OREC approval for CE credit.
Dick Betts’ two technology classes: Mobile Technology…The Way of the World and Agent’s Digital Footprint…Got One? are OREC approved for 3 hours elective CE credit—Click Here to learn more about the RAD Education Conference and Trade Show April 4-5. Cost is only $50 per member; register online at tulsarealtors.com. If you want year-long, super-savings on CE classes, check out GTAR’s new Class Pass for only $25 more! (See information below.) And don’t worry…we will still have the same great, free Trade Show you know and love from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.—complete with valuable information, door prizes, food, and fun—and all for free thanks to GTAR’s Firm Affiliates! (You do not need to register for the Trade show nor participate in the Education Conference to attend!)
GTAR's Class Pass gets you admission to the Education Conference classes and motivational speaker presentation (see description above), a $50 value, PLUS any and all regular CE classes GTAR offers in 2012—starting as soon as you buy your class pass—for just $75! For more information and to purchase your GTAR Class Pass, log on to tulsarealtors.com; from the Main Menu, click on the red Education bar, then click Register for Classes, and look for GTAR Class Pass.
MLS NOTES:
Coming March 20 – FUSION!
Reminder: Access for ALL MLS users to the new MLS Fusion system (brokers, agents, assistants, staff) will be available March 20. Classes begin that day, and every user is encouraged to attend. Classes are free, but pre-registration is required. Some of you may want to take the class more than once, so plan ahead! Come to one of the first classes, then go home, apply what you’ve learned, and enroll again if needed; we have plenty of classes to select from. Register online at tulsarealtors.com (Education – Register for Classes). There are plenty of days and times to choose from; all classes will be in the GTAR Training Center, unless otherwise indicated.
January 2012 Home Sales Stats are Now Available
Upcoming Computer Classes at GTAR
Pre-registration is required; space is limited to 14 per class. For more information and to enroll: log on to tulsarealtors.com, click the red Education bar on the Member Services page, then click Register for Classes. All classes are held in the GTAR Computer Lab, unless otherwise stated.
Realist Tax System: Wednesday, March 7, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE:
Commercial Real Estate Vacancy Rates Improving, Rents Firming
According to the NAR quarterly commercial real estate forecast, all of the major commercial real estate sectors are seeing improved fundamentals, but multi-family housing is becoming a landlord’s market commanding bigger rent increases. These trends also are confirmed in NAR’s recent quarterly Commercial Real Estate Market Survey. Click Here to read complete report; Click Here for Stats.
Register Now for March 6 Accreditation Call
Don’t miss Q1 Webinar for Accredited Staff. Tuesday, March 6th 11:32 am CDT. Featured Topic: Summary results of phone interviews with 20 commercial members gauging membership attitudes, value, desired services, issues and trends.
NAR Commercial Podcast from 2012 Treasurer Bill Armstrong
In this month’s PODCAST, Bill talks about NAR’s advocacy efforts on issues affecting commercial real estate and the benefits NAR provides commercial members. Link: http://www.realtor.org/commercial/commercial_podcasts/armstrong_commercial_members
The Storeless Pop-Up Store
We tend to take for granted that the leasing of space is the one constant in our business – traditional commercial real estate models have opened up to flexible, temporary arrangements such as pop-up stores, but this is still a development concerning the leasing of physical space. Can technology possibly remove even that baseline retail requirement? Check out a recent post at The Source Blog to learn more. Link: http://blog.commercialsource.com/the-storeless-pop-up-store/
Research: State Leasing Data
NAR's Research team looks at state leasing data in the latest Commercial Market Survey, comparing 2011 activity for Q3 and Q4. Link: http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/2012/02/03/commercial-real-estate-sales-volume-by-state/
Fourth Quarter 2011 Commercial Market Reports
Xceligent is pleased to provide quarterly market reports for the Tulsa metropolitan area for Office and Industrial.
GOVERNMENT ISSUES:
Legislative Update from OAR
It was a great week at the State Capitol for the real estate industry, with all three OAR-sponsored bills being heard in Committee. Watch InSession now to find out what happened!
Obama: More Tax Relief on Forgiven Debt
President Barack Obama in his fiscal year 2013 budget request recommends extension of NAR-supported mortgage cancellation tax relief. That relief permits taxpayers to exclude from taxable income some or all of the mortgage debt forgiven by a lender in a foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification. That relief is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. The President has proposed extending it for an additional two years. For more info contact Linda Goold, lgoold@realtors.org, 202/383-1083. Access explanatory video.
Budget Request: Premium Increases for FHA
The proposed fiscal year 2013 budget for HUD indicates upcoming premium increases for FHA mortgage insurance. The temporary payroll tax holiday Congress extended late last year requires FHA to implement a 10 basis point increase in its annual premiums for all new FHA loans. According to the budget request, FHA will increase premiums on "jumbo" loans (those over $625,500) by 25 basis points, for a total of 35 basis points on those loans. FHA says it might implement additional premium increases to shore up its finances. The budget also says FHA is reducing seller concessions from 6 percent to 3 percent, or $6,000, whichever is higher. A proposed rule is expected on this later in the month. The budget also says that for the current budget year, based on re-estimates of FHA revenue, the agency could require a subsidy from the federal government of $688 million. Although they now will not request that money (because they received more than $1 billion from the settlement with the banks over robo-signing), Congress will likely re-evaluate FHA because of the shortfall. More. For more info contact Megan Booth, mbooth@realtors.org, 202/383-1222.
NAR Adopts Broad Valuation Policy
NAR has released a Responsible Valuation Policy that takes an approach to property valuations that goes beyond appraisals. The document, which looks at broker price opinions and automated valuation models as well as appraisals, is intended to give the association an updated framework for addressing valuation issues. For more info contact Jerome Nagy, jnagy@realtors.org, 202/383-1233.
Freddie Reiterates Policy on Deficiency Judgments
The secondary mortgage market company Freddie Mac has updated its bulletin to servicers to make clear lenders aren’t to pursue a deficiency judgment against a borrower after a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure if the transaction was processed in accordance with Freddie Mac’s guidelines. Summary.
FCC Adopts Telemarketing Rules
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new restrictions on autodialed and prerecorded telemarketing calls, commonly referred to as "robo-calls" to harmonize the FCC's Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules with the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule. For more info contact Melanie Wyne, mwyne@realtors.org, 202/383-1234.
The Consumer Financial You can view the proposed form at ConsumerFinance.gov. The agency currently is soliciting public and industry comment. The form is to be formally proposed this summer.
FTC Rule Could Impact Brokerage Recruiting
A rule by the Federal Trade Commission that requires disclosure by companies that offer individuals a business opportunity for a fee could impact real estate brokerages’ recruiting practices. The rule targets companies like vending machine operators but brokerages that offer recruits assistance such as a list of leads could come under the rule. Access an analysis by NAR Legal Affairs. Access a summary on Speaking of Real Estate.
(NAR) Every real estate transaction is governed by a web of federal laws and rules. Explore our interactive infographic to get guidance on 23 key laws for residential sales. Click Here
Fannie Mae Requires Online REO Offers
Your members working with buyers of a Fannie Mae REO have to submit their offer online, the company has announced. More.
Bill to Strengthen FHA Advances
A House subcommittee last week passed an NAR-supported bill to help FHA enforce its rules against bad lenders and also take steps to shore up its finances. For more info contact Megan Booth, mbooth@realtors.org, 202/383-1222.
Change Aims at More Streamlined FHA Refis
FHA has taken steps to encourage lenders to participate in the agency's streamline refinance initiative, which allows FHA borrowers current on their payments to refinance into today’s low interest rates without the lender having to undertake additional underwriting. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service also has a pilot to make refinances easier. For more info contact Megan Booth, mbooth@realtors.org, 202/383-1222.
NAR Supports Internet Sales Tax Fairness
NAR has joined other organizations in support of a bill that would address tax collection differences between brick and mortar businesses and those that operate online. For more info contact Linda Goold, lgoold@realtors.,org, 202/383-1083.
Reminder: 3.8% Tax is Not Tax on Real Estate
Tax time is nearing and once more rumors are circulating on the Internet and by e-mail that the health care reform law enacted two years ago includes a 3.8 percent transfer tax on real estate starting in 2013. That rumor is not true and NAR has material available to you to explain how that 3.8 percent tax works. It’s a tax on a very narrow band of investment income for high-wealth households (those who earn $250,000 in a joint return or $200,000 as an individual) that could come into play on the sale of a house if the sales gain is more than $500,000 for a married couple or $250,000 for an individual. Even in the unlikely event the sales gain is more than that amount, the tax would only apply based on other considerations having to with the household’s income and tax situation. The bottom line is, the tax, which was imposed to help shore up Medicare, will only hit some portion of investment income. Video and explanatory article. Free downloadable brochure on how the tax works. FAQ.
INFORMATION TO USE:
Free Consumer Content: Calm Noisy Home
The latest free content for your members’ websites, blogs, social media pages, and print resources from HouseLogic’s REALTOR® Content Resource looks at calming noisy homes.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS:
Comments on the following REALTOR® applicants should be submitted by REALTOR® members to the Membership Committee, c/o GTAR, PO Box 470603, Tulsa, OK 74147.
REALTOR®:
Jill Merrell, associated with Reynolds Realty (First Publication)
Firm Affiliate:
Celebrity Homes, Inc., Designated Individual, Allen Jenkins (First Publication)
