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December 2009
Index of all
messages
from the Association President
A quick look back and then on to 2010
By David Barber, AAR President
It is time to engage in the tasks to prepare for a new year, setting new goals and refining our business plans for 2010. But it is also important to review a few highlights of the past year.
In January, we started to see the beginnings of market change: fresh out of New Year’s celebrations, the air was charged with the feeling of change in the market. Subsequent months led to reduced days on market, drops in inventory, and, in the market segment below $300,000, we started to see multiple offers.
In May, we saw the federal government enhance the first time buyer’s tax credit and eliminate the repayment feature – this gave us the fuel we needed and the summer turned the corner. Inventory supplies under $100,000 dropped to less than one month, and below five months for properties under $400,000. In November, the government not only extended the tax credit, but also included a $6,500 credit expansion to move up buyers. Your Association co-hosted the Save Your Home Housing Fair Nov. 7, a free event for distressed homeowners. By the end of the day, we had helped more than 150 families achieve some progress on their troubled loans, with 17 fully modified.
Looking forward
Meetings at the recent NAR Conference & Expo in San Diego provided a glimpse of what to expect for 2010. Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicted that home sales will rise by 15 percent to 5.7 million units and that REALTOR® incomes for 2010 will increase by 20 percent.
There is continued lobbying for a moratorium on HVCC and a new Good Faith Estimate for the buyers. NAR will roll out “RPR” (REALTORS® Property Resource) in 2010, which will contain detailed information about every real property in the country.
As we move forward, we must look to Political Survival Fund (PSF) fundraising activities, which will start right after the New Year. In 2010, your leadership team is committed to seeing that AAR hits its fair share goal. Fair share means a contribution of $25 per member, a nominal fee even in tough times, for the benefit of the lobbying power of NAR, CAR and AAR. If our members pledge to contribute just $10 from each deal they close as a result of the tax credit, we could far exceed our fair share goals and ensure programs to help us do more business in the future.
We have a strong and profitable year ahead of us. Let’s take action to ensure we have many more ahead and strengthen our support for PSF.
Happy holidays and best wishes for a great new year ahead for you and yours!
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