December 2019

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO AREA REALTORS®

KEEPING POSTEDAs 2019 draws to a close, there are many accomplishments to share, all of which demonstrate the tremendous value each member brings to SABOR. Here’s a look at just a few of these achievements.

Surpassing our TREPAC and RPAC goals. For the third year in a row, SABOR met and surpassed its TREPAC and RPAC goals! This year SABOR surpassed its $392,315 goal for Texas REALTORS® and $476,347 for NAR. In fact, SABOR members invested a total of $523,024. These achievements were made possible by the investments of all sums made by members, and we are so appreciative of your commitment to protecting private property rights through your contributions and continuing to make the American dream of homeownership possible.

Advocating for REALTOR® issues at the Capitol. On March 26, SABOR members traveled together to Austin to spend the day at the state capitol, meeting with legislators and advocating for private property rights. Every meeting was an opportunity for REALTORS® to educate lawmakers on our legislative priorities such as property tax and school finance reform, ending forced municipal annexation, and supporting disaster relief and response.

Growing membership. From January through October, over 1,600 new REALTOR® members joined SABOR, an average of 160 new members per month. In 2019 SABOR surpassed 12,000 total members!

Providing quality education. Numerous education events and programs were offered this year, many of which were developed and hosted by committees at SABOR. These often featured guest speakers to educate members on developments around town as well as the latest updates in the industry, all in an effort to keep members informed.

Special member events. This year SABOR continued the Know Your City event series which introduces members to different locations and services around the city. Our Affinity Group, made

2019 Year in Review

Legal & Ethics

up of local diversity groups in the industry, hosted the Unconscious Bias Symposium. Also, this year we visited all nine of the counties SABOR serves, with events and special meetings with legislators in those areas.

Promoting the value of using a REALTOR®. This year alone, SABOR appeared in the news over 150 times, including interviews in print and television as well as advertisements and articles online. Appearances included instructions to search for a REALTOR® on SABOR.com and stressed why consumers should rely on a REALTOR® when buying or selling property.

Giving back to the community. In 2019, members joined together to volunteer with several charitable activities, demonstrating their care for their local community. In April SABOR members joined together to work at the SAMMinistries Transitional Living and Learning Center to work on projects to maintain the center. Members also hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at SAMMinistries and flexed their cooking skills by serving meals to the families at the SAMM shelter. Over the summer, members participated in a school uniform drive for the kids living at SAMM and also partook in a paper towel drive to benefit the SA Humane Society. On July 18 and November 14 SABOR members participated with the San Antonio Food Bank by volunteering their time to help sort and pack food in their warehouse.

SABOR members also came together to donate peanut butter throughout the year to the Food Bank. In fact, our first donation was 362 pounds! In December, members are donating gifts to the children at SAMM for the holidays and participating in a holiday event which features photos with Santa and cookie decorating.

If you missed any of these accomplishments, check out SABOR’s Facebook page to see photos at Facebook.com/ SanAntonioBoardofREALTORS.

REALTORS® often have questions about sales involving estate properties, and many of these questions pop up when the REALTOR® is selling a property where the owner has recently passed away. One commonly asked question is how long it will take to get the ownership of the property cleared up. As you may expect, the answer is always “it depends.” Sales that involve property owned by an estate can be very tricky and can often prolong a transaction’s life cycle. When this situation arises, you should always instruct your client to consult a lawyer. Generally, title to real property passes immediately to a decedent’s heirs when the decedent passes away. However, administration, or probate, of the decedent’s estate is still necessary to document the transfer of the property’s title. In many cases your client will participate in a formal administration of the decedent’s estate before they can sell the property. The process of some of these administrations takes as little as two months to complete, but can often take much longer.

As a REALTOR®, here are some things you should consider when you are involved with these types of transactions. This list is not exhaustive and you should always consult your own attorney when

Estate Property Salesfacing this type of situation. The first thing to do is verify if there is a lawyer involved. A lawyer’s involvement is a good indicator that the estate is being probated. If there is a lawyer they can often be a resource to answer your questions about the legal requirement of the probate of the decedent’s estate. Another question to ask your client is “did the decedent have a will?” This is important because if there is a will, the property may not transfer to the person wishing to sell the property. Sometimes a decedent’s will directs that the property be transferred to someone other than the decedent’s spouse or children. It’s always good to ask if a will exists. It is also important to make sure that your client is authorized to sell the property. If the deceased’s will has been probated, the person authorized to execute a listing agreement is the Executor of the will.

If you find yourself in this situation remember to ask questions. Knowing the answers will help you be better prepared to assist your client and prevent spending all the potential commissions on attorney’s fees.

San Antonio – Home sales remain at a record high as we move into Q4 2019. October reported 2,860 homes sold, a 12 percent increase over this same month last year according to the Multiple Listing Service Report from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® (SABOR) which reports on all areas contained within the MLS. Both average and median sales prices showed healthy growth as well, with an average sales price of $277,680 and a median of $235,700. The month ended with 3.7 months of inventory available, indicating a continued sellers’ market.

“The San Antonio area remains highly competitive for home buyers and sellers. Home sales continue to outpace previous years. October reported over 10,000 listings actively on the market. In fact, we’ve had over 10,000 listings available each month for the past six months,” said Grant Lopez, SABOR’s 2019 Chairman of the Board. “This means there is a variety of options for those interested in interested in buying or selling, so consult a REALTOR® to discuss your options.”

Over 58 percent of homes sold in October fell in the mid-range of $200,000 to $500,000. Another 34.41 percent of the market were homes priced under $200,000 and the market over $500,000 made up the remaining 7.31 percent of sales.

Bexar County fared similarly in October with increases in sales figures. A total of 2,104 homes sold in October, an 12.9 percent year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, the average sales price of a home in the county increased to $260,687, a 7.3 percent increase, and the median rose 4.6

percent to $221,250.Home sales in Texas rose 9.6 percent in October for a total of 27,973 homes sold. The average price for a home in October increased 5.2 percent to $293,409 with median price increasing 5.6 percent to $242,900. October ended with 37,581 new listings and 3.6 months of inventory in Texas.

San Antonio Continues Upward Trajectory for Area Home Sales Figures

San Antonio Area October 2019

SOLD

$

2,860

Total Sales

$277,680

Average Price

$235,700

Median Price

UPCOMING BOARD EVENTSDecember 2019

Facebook.com/SABoardofREALTORS

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

@ SABoardREALTORS

YouTube.com/SABoardofREALTORS

Pinterest.com/SABoardREALTORS

@SABoardREALTORS

Road Show:Boerne12

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

WELCOME NEW AFFILIATE MEMBERSGabriel Barnes - TLC Home Inspections

Matthew Davidson - GreenWorks InspectionNick Hurst - Aquila Home Inspections

Johnathan Peterson - ScriptCo PharmacyKyle Scott - Ensure Inspections

Mary Volker - CSC FloorsZach Zeller - ScriptCo Pharmacy

Santa atSAMMinistries06

Professional StandardsTraining06Awards & Installation

Ceremony05Invest SA: Opportunity Zone Summit02

House of TREPACGingerbread House Contest12

Wreaths AcrossAmerica Ceremony14 Chairman

Chats17 SABORClosed24 & 25

SABOR’s 2020 Housing Forecast

American Home ShieldApartment & Relocation CenterBarton CarpetsBDXBecker PropertiesBella Vista HomesBella Vista Princeton HomesCornerstone LendingCenter Point RealtyDavid Weekley Homes

Drayton Realty, LLCFidelity National Home Warranty First American TitleGehan Homes Gold Financial ServicesGuild MortgageHighland HomesHorizon View HomesLandmark Home Warranty Liberty Home Builders

OneGuard Home WarrantyQuick PicsSpace on the FlySWBC Mortgage

First American Home WarrantyGuaranteed Inspection ServicesJefferson BankKB Home

Legacy Mutual Mortgage NARPM - San Antonio Metro ChapterPerry HomesVIA Metropolitan Transit

Old Republic TitleSan Antonio Builder Guide

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

The 2020 Housing Forecast is on Tuesday, January 14 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa located at 23808 Resort Pkwy. The 2019 housing market has been one of the busiest we’ve seen, and 2020 seems to be following suit. Prepare for the coming year by attending the premier housing event in the San Antonio and surrounding areas. Expert speakers, exclusive information and exciting presentations are just some of the reasons to be there.

This year SABOR will welcome new speakers including Dr. Jim Gaines, Chief Economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M and Professor John Baen, Professor of Real Estate at the University of North Texas. Additionally you will hear about the local San Antonio area housing market statistics such as sales activity from the previous year.

In addition to these speakers, the event will feature presentations from Molly Cox, President and CEO of SA2020 and Daniel Gonzalez, Director of Legislative Affairs at Texas REALTORS®. Their presentations will shed new light on the local housing market and will feature a legislative update as it impacts the real estate industry.

Act quickly as tickets are selling fast! Tickets are just $50 before December 13 and $75 after that date. Also, be sure to join the conversation at the event and watch the highlights by following SABOR on Facebook at facebook.com/SanAntonioBoardofREALTORS with #HF20.

Platinum

NAR’s Clear Cooperation PolicyAt its November 11 meeting, NAR’s Board of Directors approved MLS Statement 8.0, also known as the Clear Cooperation Policy. The policy requires listing brokers who are participants in a multiple listing service to submit their listing to the MLS within one business day of marketing the property to the public.

NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board proposed the policy as a way to address the growing use of off-MLS listings. The advisory board concluded that leaving listings outside of the broader marketplace excludes consumers, undermining REALTORS®’ commitment to provide equal opportunity to all. The policy doesn’t prohibit brokers from taking office-exclusive listings; nor does it impede brokers’ ability to meet their clients’ privacy needs.

What does this mean for SABOR MLS subscribers? SABOR is required to adopt the policy no later than May 1, 2020. In the meantime SABOR will work to find a solution that allows us to abide by this new rule in a way that best serves the buyers and sellers with whom our members work. Once a local adoption date is set, it will be communicated to the membership.

For questions please contact communications@sabor.com.