Emerald Coast Association of Realtors
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2012 Florida Realtors® Convention
August 8 – 12, 2012
Nearly 60 members of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® (ECAR) attended the Florida Realtors® Convention and Trade Show this year. Of those who went to Orlando, several went as representatives of ECAR. They brought back valuable information to be shared with the entire ECAR membership.
Absorption rate
Absorption rate was a hot topic this year at convention. Only a certain number of homes sell in any given period of time. Learning how to calculate the absorption rate enables you to show your customers the odds of their home selling in a given time frame.
Zan Monroe led a discussion about absorption rate and shared his website with free resources to learn more about it. Go to www.zanmonroe.com and take a look around, or go directly to http://www.zanmonroe.com/prod_library.htm to download free information. Zan’s shocking quote of his presentation: “You are wasting your time marketing your listings. No one ever bought your listing because of how well you marketed it. At the right price, a listing will sell. Nothing else matters.”
Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo announced the creation of a new absorption rate pricing tool that will enable members to accurately evaluate properties and advise clients and customers.
Accolades & Awards
ECAR Past President and Treasurer Dale E. Peterson won the Realtor® Achievement Award for Florida Realtors®. Dale was selected out of numerous nominees from across the state because of his contribution to ECAR, Florida Realtors®, NAR, and the community. Congratulations Dale!
Education
During Convention each year, many classes are offered throughout the week. This year, the Performance Management Network (PMN) course was presented. This designation is recognized by NAR and developed by the Women’s Council of Realtors® (WCR). The PMN designation was built from the ground up to bring Realtors® the real world skills, the know-how, and the tools that will keep your business out front and on top of an evolving market.
The Florida Chapter of the Council of Real Estate Broker Managers (CRB) continues to strength in both membership and financials. The districts are more active, the 2012 CRB course was well attended, and another is planned for 2013.
The Florida Military Specialist (FMS) certification is now being advertised. The curriculum is nearly finished and applications are being made to offer continuing education (CE) credit. To earn the FMS certification, participants must complete 24 hours of education coursework. A local instructor is helping with the development of the program, and ECAR is likely to be one of the first associations hosting the course.
Global
In the Global Committee meeting, it was announced that the symposiums that have been sponsored by NAR every 18 months will be replaced by locally held symposiums (for example – Destination Destin). The next one planned is Destination Vegas for $149.00.
Legal
Florida Realtors® Legal Counsel Margy Grant discussed escrow problems and urged brokers not to hold deposit checks even if they think the buyer is going to back out or the seller will not accept the offer.
The FAR 9 Task Force released a replacement Contract for Residential Sale and Purchase (CRSP-12) and the FAR 10 will be replaced with the CRSP-12 Addenda.
An appraisal addenda was added and the Chinese Drywall addendum, Mold Inspection Addendum to Contract, and Short Sale Addendum to Purchase and Sale Contract are now included in the CRSP-12 addenda. The individual versions will no longer be available.
Membership
There are just over 110,000 Florida Realtors® members, which is approximately a one percent increase in membership from last year.
District 9 (ECAR, Bay County, Navarre, Pensacola, Santa Rosa, and Franklin & Gulf Counties) has 5,088 active Realtor® members.
NAR Treasurer Bill Armstrong reported to the Florida Realtors® Executive Committee that all the membership dues NAR receives pay for programs and member benefits. NAR’s investment vehicles pay for Governance.
Public Policy & Politics
Florida Realtors® recommends voting YES on Amendments 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11. No recommendations were made regarding any other Constitutional Amendments.
John Sebree, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for Florida Realtors® discussed his meeting with Governor Rick Scott and representatives of Lloyd’s of London to bring additional surplus lines to Florida. Lloyd’s made it clear they did not want to come to Florida to compete with a Florida-owned insurance company. Governor Scott explained that Florida would prefer not to complete if Lloyd’s of London will bring a competitive product.
Technology
The IT team at Florida Realtors® has completed the redesign of Florida Living Network and is currently working on a complete redesign of IDX for Florida Realtors®. These, along with other services, will be available for the Florida Realtors® Tech Tools Suite.
Jeff Zipper, Vice President of Communications for Florida Realtors® urged Realtors® to visit the Florida Realtors® YouTube Channel to see the “Take 5” video series. Topics include Pricing Strategies, Trends, Must-Have Technologies, Driving Web Traffic, Working with Appraisers, Working with Gen Y, and more. The videos are also posted on the Florida Realtors® website: www.floridarealtors.org/take5.
Florida Realtors® CEO John Fridlington announced that the beta version of MLS Advantage will be presented at the Mid Winter meetings in January.
Zip Realty is a mobile app buyers are using in their search for a home. They take a picture of the home on their phone, and the app will give them all the information they need.
Buyers and sellers research Realtors® online before making the first call. All online information: websites, social media, etc. must be kept updated and current.
Customers rely on ratings and reviews to make decisions about hiring Realtors®. It is highly recommended that Realtors® set up rating systems on their website, and ask happy customers for testimonials.
Staff Blogs from Florida Realtors® Convention
Susan’s Take on the 2012 Florida Realtors® Convention
Tip of the Week – Florida Realtors® Absorption Rate Calculator (Coming soon!)
Commercial, Commercial, and Other Stuff from Florida Realtors®