January 2019

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO AREA REALTORS®

KEEPING POSTED

Legal & Ethics

As the New Year begins I want each SABOR member to know that I am excited and honored to be SABOR’s 2019 Chairman of the Board. The 18 board members that serve you are focused on the future of SABOR and continuing to provide you with programs and information that give value to your membership. I often receive questions about how the decision-making process is handled by the Board. The first step for new ideas and change comes from our committees. When committees make recommendations in their meetings the information is provided to the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee is charged with reviewing all business prior to the full Board meeting and make recommendations. From there, the Board of Directors as a whole reviews the information and determines how to proceed. Therefore, committees play a large role in the implementation of change and new ideas and programs.

This means the best way to get involved and share your ideas for the association is to participate in committees and events at SABOR. We have over 15 committees at SABOR that you can attend or join that cover a wide variety of interests, and we would love to see you at those meetings. Even if you are not a member of the committee, you may still attend, ask questions and provide feedback. That also goes for the Board of Directors meetings. All of these meetings are open to all members to attend. This is a great way to learn more about the governance of the association, and if you are interested, you can also apply to serve on the Board.

Video Surveillance at a PropertyThe use of video surveillance at properties was at a time cost prohibitive by most home owners. However, today most surveillance cameras for a property can be purchased for less than $100. Many view the use of these cameras as a means to protect homeowners for damage or theft caused to their possessions. However, some homeowners are using the cameras as a means to spy on confidential conversations. In Texas, the law only requires that one person consent to the recording of audio and video footage on a property. This means that the law does not require visitors of the

property to consent or be put on notice of the recordings. Buyer’s agents should be proactive in advising their clients that they should be cautious about what they say while inside the home.

Additionally, seller’s agents should be honest and open about the use of video surveillance on a property they are listing. Agents have a duty to treat all parties fairly and it may be possible that failing to disclose the use of surveillance technology to acquire confidential information breaches that duty.

A Note from SABOR’s 2019 Chairman

Speaking of the Board of Directors, you are always welcome to view the minutes from our meetings on member.sabor.com. On the “About Us” dropdown, select “Board of Directors,” and on this page you will see a link to view the minutes from our meetings. You can also view the SABOR Management Reports which provide an overview of some of the association’s activities each month.

Finally, I want each of SABOR’s over 11,000 members to know that I am always here to answer your questions and hear your concerns. Our organization is successful because of our members and I want to encourage you to continue to help us be the best association we can be. If you have any questions or concerns please email me at chairman@sabor.com.

“We’re looking forward to a great 2019 at SABOR. I am honored to serve SABOR’s 11,000 members

this year.”- Grant Lopez

San Antonio – Home sales figures continued their gradual year-over-year increases across the board in November, with 2,408 homes sold, a four percent increase from 2017 according to the Multiple Listing Service Report from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® (SABOR), which reports on all areas contained within the MLS. The average price rose two percent to $259,767 while median grew five percent to $226,200. The month reported 3.4 months of inventory and ended with 1,949 sales still pending.

The average time of a home spent on the market in November was 62, which is one more day than this time last year, and the price per square foot rose four percent year-over-year to $122. Just over 3,000 new listings hit the market in November, and 9,254 listings were active during the month.

“We had nearly 90 more homes sold this month from the same time last year, and 1,400 additional homes sold this year to date,” said SABOR 2018 Chairman of the Board Lorena Peña. “These year-over-year increases just go to show that buyers are still finding properties that meet their needs and there is still high demand for homes in the area.”

When breaking down the percentage of home sales per price bracket, homes sold under $199,000 made up 39.41 percent of the month’s market. Homes priced between $200-$499,000 accounted for 55.19 percent of November’s sales and homes priced over $500,000 made up 5.32 percent of the market.

In Bexar County, a total of 1,784 homes sold in November, a 3.2 percent increase from 2017. The average price of a home sold in the county increased 0.7 percent to $244,347 and the median rose 2.5 percent to $210,000.

Overall, homes sales in Texas in November totaled 23,434, a 3.1 percent drop year-over-year. The average price for a home sold in Texas went up 4.1 percent to $284,185 and the median rose four percent to $232,000.

November Home Sales Show Steady Gain

November 2017

San Antonio Area November 2018

A COMPLETE LIST OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS, EDUCATION COURSES AND OTHER BOARD EVENTS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT MEMBER.SABOR.COM

UPCOMING BOARD EVENTSJanuary 2019

WELCOME NEW AFFILIATE MEMBERS

Facebook.com/SABoardofREALTORS

Linkedin.com/companies/san-antonio-board-of-realtors

@ SABoardREALTORS

YouTube.com/SABoardofREALTORS

Pinterest.com/SABoardREALTORS

@SABoardREALTORS

Charles Cole - Rio Bravo Home InspectionsLou Ann Hicks - Combined Insurance

April Raynor - Hancock MortgageJule Rodriguez - Space on the Fly, LLC

Rodney Twyford - Alamo Real Pro Inspection Group

Our thoughts and prayers go out to REALTOR® Barbara Tarin on the loss of her mother.

THOUGHTS & PRAYERS

Dinner at SAMMinistries

SABOR Closed1 2019 Housing

Forecast3 24

Texas REALTORS® Gear Up for Advocacy at the Capitol

2019 Outlook

In three weeks, Texas lawmakers will gavel-in for the 86th legislative session at the state Capitol in Austin. Today over 800 bills have been pre-filed in anticipation of a bill filing bonanza that will commence on January 8th when both chambers gavel-in. Legislators are expected to review thousands of bills and it’s to be expected that hundreds will have some impact on real estate and private property rights. Thankfully, your Texas REALTOR® membership encompasses a robust political affairs program that is structured to ensure that every bill is reviewed. Through the unity of more than 120,000 members, we’re able to support policies that benefit property owners. In fact, over the past few months the Texas REALTORS® Public Policy Oversight Committee has worked diligently to review the policy recommendations received by members in anticipation of the 2019 legislative session. The committee has proposed a concentrated focus on four critical areas of advocacy: taxation, land-use, business and infrastructure.

The San Antonio Board of REALTORS® extends an invitation to you to make a meaningful impact at the State Capitol this spring. Your commitment to attend REALTOR® Day at the Capitol on March 26, 2019 can help us to secure a seat at the table when key decisions are being made. Thousands of Texas REALTORS® will convene to advocate for legislation that will ensure the options to purchase, sell, and own real estate exist without burdensome regulations and costs. Educating elected officials on the key role real estate plays in the health of our state economy heightens their awareness of governmental policies that may offer a safeguard for a healthy market. You don’t want to pass up your opportunity to speak face-to-face with lawmakers.

Learn more about our political advocacy program and ways that you can get engaged at the state level by visiting texasrealestate.com/advocacy.

To learn more about SABOR’s REALTOR® Day at the Capitol visit member.sabor.com.

OneGuard Home Warranty NARPM - San Antonio Metro Chapter

Legacy Mutual MortgageVIA Metropolitan Transit

Old RepublicTitle

Thank You to Our SABOR Advertisers

BronzeSilver

Gold

Richard Alcorta

Sara Briseño Gerrish

Katie Griffin Ross

Tracie Hasslocher

Jan Hicinbothom

Diane Lauer

Patsy Oakley

Renae Pretty

Susan Rodriguez

Mindi Stange

Marquis Williams

Kim Young

ChairmanGrant Lopez

Chair-ElectKim Bragman

Secretary/TreasurerTrudy Pape

Members-At-LargeCortney Gill | Cher Miculka

Immediate Past ChairLorena Peña

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kicking off 2019 will be SABOR’s Housing Forecast on January 3. This year’s program will feature the always entertaining economist, Dr. Mark Dotzour. We will also welcome Molly Cox, President and CEO of SA 2020 and Lourdes Castro Ramirez, Chair of the City of San Antonio’s Housing Policy Task Force. Other speakers include Jon Gary Herrera, Senior Vice President for Public Engagement at VIA Metropolitan Transit and Isidro Martinez, Director at Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

In 2018, we were able to reach our TREPAC goal for the second year in a row and our RPAC goal for the first time in SABOR history. We hope to do the same again in 2019, and show the rest of Texas that SABOR members care about investing in this industry. Be on the lookout for events and other programs you can participate in to help support TREPAC this year.

Speaking of support, SABOR members will continue giving back to the community in 2019 with several projects in partnership with our Charities of Choice. For our first volunteer event of the year, SABOR will be hosting a dinner at SAMMinistries on January 24th. If you are interested in helping out, email communications@sabor.com.

We couldn’t do any of this without the energy and dedication of our members who are committed to making this the best industry in which to work. Hundreds of you are serving on 2019 committees, and we are so grateful for the time you are putting toward this service.

If you are interested in learning more about getting involved this year, please visit our website at member.sabor.com. We have a lot to look forward to, and many opportunities for you to join us along the way. Thank you for your membership. Happy New Year!

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