MARCH 2018

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO AREA REALTORS®

KEEPING POSTED

Legal & Ethics

You know the old saying: “Time is money.” That’s especially true when it comes to determining how to value your time as a real estate professional on a per-hour basis. At a “normal” job, you trade your time for a paycheck based on a set hourly rate. Though you’re now paid on commission, it is possible to determine your hourly rate by dividing your total income by the number of hours worked.

It’s no secret that you’ll make more money selling more expensive homes, but even some daily business tasks are worth more per hour than others. Getting a sense for which tasks can be tied directly to additional sales allows you to allocate your time better and focus on money-generating activities such as prospecting, following up and meeting with clients. By knowing your worth on an hourly basis now, you can make goals for what you’d like your time to be worth in the future. Then you can make your current income (or more) while working less. Here are some worthwhile lessons to take to heart as you assess your per-hour value.

First, Do the MathTo make a true apples-to-apples comparison, you’ll want to take your annual income (minus business expenses) and divide by the number of hours you’ve worked. Be honest with yourself: Time spent in the office browsing the internet or gossiping with co-workers does not count. If you’ve kept track of your time in your calendar, you can quickly determine the average number of hours you’ve worked each week and multiply that by the number of weeks you’ve worked this year. Be sure to pay attention to the number of hours spent on each transaction. The number of hours spent on listing and selling a home may be less than those spent representing buyers.

Use Your Hourly Rate to Become More EfficientOnce you have a better understanding of your hourly rate, you can begin making business decisions and delegating responsibilities based on what’s most important. Some potential clients may be looking at cheaper homes or ones that are far away from your office. Consider referring those clients out; remember, you can still collect a referral fee. Determine which of your day-to-day duties are the most lucrative and work towards generating income.

Learn to Delegate Delegating tasks can add meaningful time to your schedule, freeing up hours to do the things that generate income. Remember that understanding your hourly value helps you figure out where your time is best spent. You should be devoting the majority of your time on the expert-level activities that earn you the big bucks.

Serious professionals never forget that time equals money, so don’t just guesstimate how much your waking hours are worth. Know for sure, and you’ll have the confidence and proven data to make savvier business decisions in the future.

Article courtesy of REALTOR® Magazine

Avoiding Dual Representation: What to do if you represent a seller and a buyer approaches and asks for your help drawing up a contractAs an agent, it is important to remember that you are acting as a fiduciary and must not put another party’s interest above your clients. Representing both the buyer and seller, as a dual agent, may result in a conflict of interest and breach the duty you owe to your client. Conflicts in a dual representation role may arise because buyers and sellers often have competing interests. Sellers wish to sell for the highest possible price with the most favorable terms, while the buyer hopes to purchase for the lowest price with terms favorable to them.

Though a buyer may approach you, drafting a contract or offer does not create a dual agency relationship, and is permissible if you continue to represent your client’s best interest. Here, you should avoid negotiating terms or setting a price that would not be beneficial to your client. Additionally, you should always disclose your agency relationship to other parties. Failure to disclose your principal/agent relationship, or working on behalf of the party, may cause them to believe you are acting as their agent. Though no formal agency relationship was formed, you may have inadvertently created an impermissible dual representation and breached your fiduciary duty.

Always remember to act in your client’s best interest. Failure to properly represent your client may result in a suspension or loss of your license.

What Are You Worth Per Hour?

San Antonio – The first month of 2018 continued the previous year’s momentum, pushing up sales and causing a four percent year-over-year increase according to the Multiple Listing Service Report from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® (SABOR) which reports on all areas contained within the MLS. A total of 1,760 homes were sold in the area, with 2,075 sales still pending at the close of January. Months of inventory remained low with just 3.2 months available, while both average and median home sales prices increased. The average price rose two percent to $245,670 and the median jumped up eight percent to $210,500, the twelfth month in a row the median has remained above $200,000.

“Prices are continuing to increase, but still remain below the state average and median prices,” said Lorena Peña, SABOR’s 2018 Chairman of the Board. “Also, when we look at our entire market in the area, nearly half – 46 percent – of the homes here are still selling below $200,000.”

Another 49 percent of the homes sold in January were priced between $200,000 and $500,000 and the remaining five percent of homes sold were priced over $500,000.

Meanwhile, Bexar County’s home prices continue to remain below those in the other large metro areas in Texas. Bexar County’s median home price in January was just $198,250 in contrast to Travis County’s $329,700 and Harris County’s $205,000. In Texas, the median price of a home sold was $218,804, a 6.7 percent year-over-year increase.

Home sales in Bexar County increased 1.4 percent from the previous year with 1,279 sales while in Texas, home sales rose 4.8 percent from 2017 for a total of 17,621 homes sold in January.

“The winter months have not deterred people from entering the housing market, and January proves that buyers are still taking

advantage of the low interest rates and available inventory to make their moves,” said Gilbert Gonzalez, SABOR’s Interim CEO. “For anyone who has been on the fence about buying or selling, this is a great time to get started.”

January Home Sales Increase Four Percent from Previous Year

November 2017

Sa Antoni Are MARKET STATISTICS

JANUARY 2018 Percent change reflects a year-over-year comparison of January 2017 & January 2018.

For a detailed report please visit SABOR.com

1,760 4% Increase YoY

$245,670 2% Increase YoY

$210,500 8% Increase YoY

Total Sales Average Price Median Price

Days on Market

67 5 Days More Than 2017

$199,000 and below = 45.8%

$200,000-$499,000 = 49.1%

$500,000 and Up = 5%

Average

Price Per

Sq. Ft.

$116

Active Listings

New Listings

Pending Sales

3,059 (2018)3,057 (2017)

2,075 (2018)  1,951 (2017)

8,340(2018)7,938 (2017)

FOR RENT

Residential Rental

Average Price:

$1,407

San Antonio Area Jan. 2018

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

UPCOMING BOARD EVENTSMarch 2018

WELCOME NEW AFFILIATE MEMBERS

Designated Broker/Manager Meeting7Election

Day6

Facebook.com/SABoardofREALTORS

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

@ SABoardREALTORS

YouTube.com/SABoardofREALTORS

Pinterest.com/SABoardREALTORS

@SABoardREALTORS

Daniel Anthony - Top Flight Financial, Inc

Jimmy Gutierrez - University Lending Group

Kam Keshvari - K-BIZ Property Inspections

Justin L. Leonard - Leonard Inspection Services, LLC

John Onofrey - Original Bug Company San Antonio Inc.

Stephy Schoelman - Gold Financial, Schoelman

Shawn Stahl - Peachtree Home Inspections, PL

Matthew Tyson - San Antonio Builder Guide

Saving the Transaction Through Affiliates8

Texas REALTORS® 36020-21 Habitat for Humanity

Build23

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

THOUGHTS & PRAYERS

Effective Online Marketing

Did you know?

• 95% of homebuyers used the Internet as an information source • 51% of homebuyers found their home on the Internet• 89% of homebuyers found photos and 85% found detailed information about properties for sale very useful• Other useful website features included floor plans and virtual tours• A typical homebuyer who used the Internet in their home search is 43 years old and had a median household income of $89,900• 67% of Internet homebuyers drove by or viewed a home they saw online• The typical homebuyer who used the Internet searched for 10 weeks and visited 10 homes

Source: 2016 NAR Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers

Seven Facts About Internet Usage and the Home Buying Decision

An online presence is a vital component of a real estate professional’s marketing strategy. Because today’s consumers want accurate information quickly and conveniently, real estate professionals must harness the features and capabilities of online marketing to meet these ever-increasing needs. Learn about online marketing basics, tips on marketing your website, and information on how to use email and blogging.

Video as a Marketing ToolWith YouTube practically a household word and digicams and video-editing software becoming ever more sophisticated and affordable, digital video is suddenly where the action is. Property sellers and real estate professionals alike are finding out how easy and effective it is to create and post homemade virtual tours, neighborhood guides, and other videos to help sell real estate.

Social Media PresenceWith over 1.3 billion members worldwide, Facebook remains the largest social network site. Are you using Facebook as part of your real estate marketing? You may also consider using Instagram, a fun photosharing app and website as well as Twitter, which provides a simple way of sending short bits of information to your subscribers. In short, you can use social media to let your clients know what you are doing for them, post short descriptions of new listings, and keep your team on schedule.

Top-Level .realtor DomainBuild trust and credibility online with an exclusive .realtor domain, courtesy of the National Association of REALTORS®. This will help you stand out and demonstrate your professionalism. Only verified REALTORS® can get .realtor domains and email. Visit www.get.realtor to learn more.

Alamo Zippy Shell American Home ShieldBBVA CompassCalibert Home LoansChicago Title

Directions Home LoanImagine HomesLoan DepotLogiciel Propects SoftwareMonticello Homes

Movement MortgageNARPMRialto HomesTop Flite Financial Inc.

Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper REALTORS®

Jefferson BankOneGuard Home Warranty

Open MortgageSWBC MortgageTAPFCUTrinity Title

dynaConnectionsLegacy Mutual MortgageMeritage Homes

Thank You to Our SABOR Advertisers

Bronze

SilverGold

Richard Alcorta

Tim Brown

Michelle Ellis

Sara Gerrish

Cortney Gill

Tracie Hasslocher

Ben Henderson

Diane Lauer

Cher Miculka

Patsy Oakley

Trudy Pape

Susan Rodriguez

Kim Young

ChairmanLorena Peña

Chairman-ElectMarty Hutchison

Secretary/TreasurerPhilip Becker

Member-At-LargeKim Bragman

Member-At-LargeGrant LopeZ

Immediate Past ChairmanYvette M. Allen

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

REALTOR® AcademyPlatinum