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Low Inventory Shows Continued Advantage for Sellers The supply of homes dropped for the fourth consecutive month, reaching a low of 3.1 months of inventory. Inventory has remained in the three month range for more than a year. This mirrors trends across the country as sellers seem wary of putting their home on the market. Home sales improved slightly from the same period in 2013, but are up 35% from February 2014. Low inventory is affecting total sales and dollar volume for the year, causing a lag behind 2013 numbers. These figures may increase as the busy season starts to ramp up. The good news for sellers with their homes on the market is the increase in average and median prices for single-family houses. These figures are expected to increase as long as inventory remains low. Buyers are still benefitting from record-low mortgage interest rates, which are expected to remain low through 2014. Pending sale numbers are a concern with the dramatic increase of 58%, year-to-year. This indicates that regulations in the mortgage sector are creating delays in completing transactions. As regulations seem to change more frequently, it may continue to be more difficult for buyers to close on time. Regardless of the changes that come, Lubbock is positioned better than most other areas because of our superb local lenders. They work hard to continue to close transactions on time and keep customers up-to-date on the process.

It’s Not Over Just Yet...Get Out and VOTE! The association’s endorsed candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Ann-Marie Carruth, needs your vote! The association has endorsed her for her legal experience, support of private property rights and belief in limited government.

Phone (806) 795-9533 Fax (806) 791-6529 5015 Knoxville Avenue, Lubbock Texas 79413-4039

2014 Board Officers2014 Board Officers2014 Board Officers2014 Board Officers

Nancy Rawls, President

Rusty DeLoach, President Elect

Charles Kearney, Treasurer

Jef Conn, Secretary

Coby Crump, Chairman of the Board

DIRECTORSDIRECTORSDIRECTORSDIRECTORS

Cynthia Arriaga, 2013—2014

Leigh Anne Brozo, 2014—2015

Vanessa Dirks, 2014—2015

Frank Harmon, 2013—2014

Jacky Howard, 2013—2014

Larry Jones, 2014

Tara Newton, 2014—2015

Nathan Jordan, 2014—2015

Jeff Sellers, 2014—2015

Susan Shakespeare, 2014—2015

Dan Williams, 2013—2014

Jana Wuthrich, 2013—2014

EX OFFICIO DIRECTORSEX OFFICIO DIRECTORSEX OFFICIO DIRECTORSEX OFFICIO DIRECTORS

Tim Garrett, 2014—2015 Regional

Vice President and TAR Director

Ann Kearney, 2014-2016 TAR

Director

John Walton, TAR Director Lifetime

REALTOR www.lubbockrealtors.com

L U B B O C K ®

MAY 2014

Categories April 2013 April 2014 Percent Change

Total Residential Property Sales 354 355 -0.3%

Total Residential Dollar Volume $129,216,370 $119,591,310 -7.4%

Average Single-Family Sales Price $151,839 $155,313 2.3%

Median Single-Family Sales Price $119,750 $132,500 10.6%

Total Active Residential Listings 1,115 1,014 -9.1%

Total Pending Residential Sales 353 559 58.4%

Months Inventory* 3.8 3.1 -18.4%

*Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months sales activity.

Year-to-Date Comparison

Categories Jan-April 2013 Jan-April 2014 Percent Change

Total Residential Property Sales 1,221 1,102 -9.7%

Total Residential Dollar Volume $184,390,970 $174,272,467 -5.5%

Average Single-Family Sales Price $151,016 $158,142 4.7%

Median Single-Family Sales Price $120,000 $129,500 7.9%

No�ce on this informa�on: Mul�ple Lis�ng Service data is reported to the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M and the Na-

�onal Associa�on of REALTORS® on the eighth of each month. Year-to-date data may be corrected for informa�on reported

a(er the eighth. Neither the associa�on nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained

by the associa�on or its MLS may not reflect all ac�vity in the real estate market.

APRIL MONTHLY MARKET COMPARISON

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Vote Ann-Marie Carruth—Justice of the Peace Precinct 4! Here are the other Texas Association of REALTORS® endorsed candidates: • Lieutenant GovernorLieutenant GovernorLieutenant GovernorLieutenant Governor————Republican David DewhurstRepublican David DewhurstRepublican David DewhurstRepublican David Dewhurst • Attorney GeneralAttorney GeneralAttorney GeneralAttorney General————Republican Dan BranchRepublican Dan BranchRepublican Dan BranchRepublican Dan Branch

EARLY VOTING EARLY VOTING EARLY VOTING EARLY VOTING Ends Ends Ends Ends Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday, May 23May 23May 23May 23 Election Day Election Day Election Day Election Day Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday, May 27May 27May 27May 27...so vote ...so vote ...so vote ...so vote early!early!early!early!

Big DataBig DataBig DataBig Data The term “Big Data” is not just a real estate term, it’s part of every facet of the technology age. Every time you get on-line—every Web site you visit, every search term you enter, every purchase you make, every text, tweet and photo you upload—indicates your own individual habits. This is valuable information for companies because they believe it can help them predict where you’re likely to go on vacation or what car you’re most likely to buy. That’s the idea behind big data: predicting how people or businesses will act based on patterns or models extracted from this data. This information can help companies decide where to focus their advertising to get the most attention and reach the people that are most likely to buy their products and use their services. The more data a company has, the more accurate the predictions can be. Think about when you use Google. Google now automatically offers suggestions as you type your question based on the most common web searches. A more common example in real estate is your credit score. Your credit score is calculated on several factors like your past payment history, the amounts in your credit past, and how many times your credit has been accessed. It predicts how likely you are to repay a loan. You can also relate it to a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). As you know, CMAs are created using similar homes in the neighborhood based on past sales history. To get the most accurate CMA, you use the most recent sales. All these are instances of big data or data analytics.

MEMBER NEWSMEMBER NEWSMEMBER NEWSMEMBER NEWS Total Members 859 (Total Members 859 (Total Members 859 (Total Members 859 (++++7% from projected 2014 membership)7% from projected 2014 membership)7% from projected 2014 membership)7% from projected 2014 membership)

175 Companies 175 Companies 175 Companies 175 Companies │ 684 │ 684 │ 684 │ 684 SalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersons

New REALTORNew REALTORNew REALTORNew REALTOR Members Members Members Members

SalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersons

Lauren Raynes Keller Williams Realty

Jentry McMinn New Home Brokers

Larry Hale Penland Realty

Tammy Hamersley Exit Realty of Lubbock

Desirae McKee Exit Realty of Lubbock

Ryker Taylor Exit Realty of Lubbock

Erica Freeman JMC Realty

(continued on page 3)

Member Benefit—Rent the LAR! As a member of the LAR, you can rent the office auditorium for just $25, even on the weekends! Mem-bers have used it for graduation receptions, birthday parties, lunch-es, and more. Contact Cade at the association for more information, cadefowler@lubbockrealtors.com.

Pictured left-to-right: Ken Harlan-MLS Issues and Policies Chair, Rusty DeLoach-2014 President Elect, Ann-Marie Carruth, Nancy Rawls-2014 President, Vanessa Dirks-Property Investors & Managers Chair

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The National Association of REALTORS® new Predictive Analytics group, headed by Todd Carpenter, hopes to someday use data analytics to anticipate which REALTORS® are most likely to rise to leadership positions, which products they are most likely to buy, and who is most likely to respond to Call-to-Action or contribute to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC). The national association’s plan is to compile all the information it collects about members—potentially including data from state and local associations, MLSs and other sources—under the NAR umbrella to make forecasts based on behavior patterns. This will be used to help REALTORS®, state and local associations, and others to make better data-driven decisions. “Before we really can offer predictive products,” Carpenter says, “we have to focus on gathering all of this data and putting it in one place.” NAR is already collecting unique data about members in each of their separate departments, but it’s not currently connected in any useable way, Carpenter says. “For instance, if you work in community and political affairs, you know a lot about which members vote and respond to calls-for-action or give money to RPAC, but you don’t know if they’re taking an Accredited Buyer Representative Course (ABR) or attending the conference, or which NAR newsletters they subscribe to.”

Tools like association management systems, RAMCO in particular, is the first step toward finding the members who are engaged in the association, those who are barely engaged and those who are engaged in certain ways, like those interested in e-learning. Association management systems are used to track committee service, association store purchases and TREPAC investments. “So once we collect all the data, we can track it over time. And as we do that, we can see patterns of how someone becomes more engaged in the association,” Carpenter says. As the association identifies those patterns, it can establish which people look at what information, so that it can deliver them the information and tools they need to lead them down the path already identified as most likely. “So instead of blasting every member with everything we have, we can better target our efforts,” Carpenter says. National, state and local associations can use this information to save them time and money. Although initially NAR will use the data they compile, member activity would be incomplete without the data that state and local associations have. Data like the types of education classes taken and agent transaction histories could prove invaluable in developing tools and services to help members boost business and increase efficiency. “Getting information from states and locals is going to be highly valuable to us. With it we can get an even better idea of how members are engaged at the local, state and national level and put that all in one spot so locals will have that intelligence on our members,” Carpenter says. This would be a give-and-take model. “Locals and states would benefit from what we could give them in exchange for member data. That would be worked out individually with associations and MLSs regarding how much and what type of information they would like to share.”

Application in Consumer and Market Behavior Predicting member behavior for the benefit of associations is just the beginning of NAR’s big data initiative. The group is investigating opportunities to collaborate with NAR’s research department to project consumer trends, real estate market direction and best practices to help members make better business decisions like focusing their marketing efforts and keeping their clients informed on the market which will help them serve their clients better.

Business Partner ApplicationsBusiness Partner ApplicationsBusiness Partner ApplicationsBusiness Partner Applications

Caring Transitions Heather Arjona, representative

South Plains Electric Coop Al Arreola, representative

Membership CancellationsMembership CancellationsMembership CancellationsMembership Cancellations

SalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersonsSalespersons

Chlo Jones Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS®

Dawn Mitchell Coldwell Banker Rick Canup, REALTORS®

Misty McLean RE/MAX Lubbock

RRRREALTORSEALTORSEALTORSEALTORS®®®® on the Moveon the Moveon the Moveon the Move

Sylvia Espinoza MoVaDe Realty to Desire Realty

Andrea Barron

Rush, REALTORS® to Today in Lubbock Real Estate

Joe Hall Jerry Kitten Broker to Century 21 John Walton, REALTORS®

Corey Zant Reinstate with Progressive Properties

Doug Jordan New representative for Stewart Title

Miscellaneous ChangesMiscellaneous ChangesMiscellaneous ChangesMiscellaneous Changes

Property Investors Property Investors Property Investors Property Investors and Managers and Managers and Managers and Managers WebinarWebinarWebinarWebinar Date: Wed, May 21 Time: 10—11:00 AM Cost: Free MCE hours: 1 The Property Investors and Managers Committee hosts this one hour webinar that will provide an overview of the TAR Residential Leasing and Property Management Agreement. How this form can protect you when you choose to manage someone’s property. This session is open to all levels of experience. Members with just one investment Members with just one investment Members with just one investment Members with just one investment property are encouraged to attend. property are encouraged to attend. property are encouraged to attend. property are encouraged to attend.

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On the Road to Convergence By Jeremy Conaway

The residential real estate market is approaching the mid-point of the second quar-ter of 2014. It is well into the spring season and all signs point to a very productive year. Even now, the summer magic of Memorial Day weekend has begun to sound in our consciousness. This week is the NAR REALTOR® Party event in Washington, D.C. By the time the industry comes up for air it will be August again. This is a great time to take a moment to look around and take stock of the current industry forces and dynamics that will mark our lives, businesses and careers for the third and fourth quarter of 2014. The current industry dynamic is much more under the surface than in years past. This is largely due to the fact that the industry and the marketplace are now exhibit-ing and manifesting actual changes rather than the threats and trend indicators we have been monitoring and reacting to over the past several years. There is a sense of calm in the current marketplace. It is almost as if the industry has tired of being threatened and hassled about the “future” and has simply re-signed itself to getting it over with. What are these convergence patterns that are forming, what dynamics do they re-flect and how will they impact the marketplace, transaction and industry? A critical element in understanding the current market and industry dynamic is understanding how convergence works. The folks who produce the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup candy have been trying to explain convergence for years. They take the taste and qualities of chocolate and mix it with the equally unique properties of peanut butter and create a third and completely different taste of a branded candy. Of course, one can still monitor specific trends and identify freestanding motion paths across the real estate marketplace. However, the more interesting activity has now become watching two or more unrelated forces crash together and form a total-ly new force field. A classic example of convergence can be found in the current Multiple Listing Service (MLS) environment. The industry has reached a relatively universal agreement that the classic traditional MLS is either unable to or is simply unwilling to move with the times and circumstances. Over the past few years its failure to even consider changing its role or developing its leadership potential has been puzzling and annoying to those who have been attempting to bring their brokerages and other entities into the present. Over the past few months it has become increasingly obvious that the classic MLS is now on the endangered species list. But even more interesting are the forces that are now are converging to accelerate and stage this downfall. The three most vibrant MLS predators are high production agents through their “off MLS” marketing practices, consumers through “Community’ mar-keting programs and the largest brokerages in the country through the Realty Alliance’s efforts to design, develop and imple-ment its listing diversion program. Note that none of these three groups are competitors; rather they are customers and con-sumers who are simply unwilling to tolerate the existing experience. This situation gets even more amazing when one consid-ers the fact that at least one of the three contenders for developing and building the MLS “killer” system is one of the top MLS system vendors in the industry. In no other industry would such a situation be allowed to exist. Another example of how convergence is impacting the industry can be found in the dramatic expansion of the listing portal. Ignoring, for the sake of this discussion, the competition between Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com, the fact is that the activities of the portals have now converged with the growing power of the new consumer to create a whole new market configuration. Like the volcano that rises from the ocean floor to become an island, the portal has now become an essential player on the resi-dential real estate landscape. The industry watched with great interest over the past five years as a new “Internet” powered consumer arrived, developed and emerged as a major market power. At each step of the way, the consumer clearly announced through surveys, actions and elections what they were looking for with respect to a real estate experience. At each of these steps the market examined the request and summarily rejected it as being too radical and not in the interest of the status quo. In so doing it created that vacuum that nature so abhors. Into this vacuum grew the portal and now, five years later, the portal has become a permanent and potentially expensive part of the transaction process. The industry is currently considering from what source this new expense will be paid. There is really only one such source available.

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The third convergence that is even now poking its head through the surface involves standards. The industry and the market has long prided itself on the fact that it didn’t need “no stinking” standards. It accepted as a matter of pride the distinction that it was the only industry still standing in the North American economy without articulated standards and quality assurance processes. This convergence has an equally unexpected cast of sponsors. The first of these surprise sponsors is the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Lead by its visionary CEO Dale Stinton, NAR has declared that organized real estate is simply not positioned correctly to meet the challenges of the new industry. A number of NAR reforms and initiatives are being prepared to remedy this situation. The first of these efforts can be found in a recently released “organizational realignment” report that establishes a number of new standards under the catch phrase “Mandatory Core Standard.” Converging with these efforts are the current initiatives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Only four years old, this new industry force has already supported consumer empowerment with radical changes and standards in the area of student loans, car loans, credit cards and, yes, home mortgages. A close and careful monitoring of current CFPB activities easi-ly sustains the growing sense that, given the fact that homeownership is clearly the most significant financial transaction and that the CFPB is already in the brokerage office inspecting mortgage programs, it will soon expand its role and influence in the real estate transaction. Interestingly enough one of the CFPB primary avenues of regulation is through standards. As in the cases above, convergence is not being driven by competitive forces but rather by those with specific views regarding consumer experience. Take some time out of your busy spring and summer schedule to track and appreciate the impacts of convergence in our in-dustry. Whether through MLS regression, portal expansion or standards proliferation our industry and our marketplace will be measurably different by August. -—Jeremy Conaway is a keynote speaker, conference facilitator, and consultant to the real estate industry. He is President and CEO of RECON Intelligence Services, and can be reached at jeremy.conaway@reconis.com.

Advice for Texas REALTORS®Advice for Texas REALTORS®Advice for Texas REALTORS®Advice for Texas REALTORS® My seller told me not to cooperate with a cer-My seller told me not to cooperate with a cer-My seller told me not to cooperate with a cer-My seller told me not to cooperate with a cer-tain agent...now what?tain agent...now what?tain agent...now what?tain agent...now what? Q: Q: Q: Q: I’m a broker, and an owner listing with me says he does not want me to cooperate with a particular agent. Can I com-ply with his request not to cooperate?

A: A: A: A: Yes. The demand by the owner not to cooperate with a firm or agent is a legitimate instruction by the client regarding the sale of his property. While Article 3 of the Code of Ethics requires that REALTORS® cooperate with other brokers, there is an exception for situa-tions in which cooperation is not in the clients best interest. To promote professionalism between firms and prevent a des-ignated firm or agent from wasting time acting on such a list-ing, a listing broker should make a courtesy call, followed by a confirmation letter, to the broker for the other firm explaining the seller’s decision to restrict cooperation on this particular sale. The decision to restrict or exempt a listing should originate with the owner. A REALTOR should not suggest an exempted listing to a client to avoid dissemination of the list-ing to other participants for any business or per-sonal reason.

What is “get real”?What is “get real”?What is “get real”?What is “get real”? It’s a new campaign REALTOR® members can use to help their clients understand what it means to be a REALTOR® and the value you bring in helping them realize their dreams! Use these “push cards” in your listing presentations, include them in your mail outs, make them available in your office, and any other way you’d like to get them in the hands of your clients, friends, family and more. These free cards are available at the LAR office and at the monthly LAR lunch-eons. Pick them up the next time you’re in the office!

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2014

Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee (TREPAC) Investors—Levels Reached as of April 30

Sterling R ($1,000)

Karleen Boyd Charles Kearney

Capital Club

($500) Brenda Bennett Michael Berg Bob Brandt Coby Crump Joy Daniel Kathy Davis Rust DeLoach Kelley Elliott Ann Kearney Greg Luman Nancy Rawls Pam Titzell

Jana Wuthrich

Lone Star Statesmen ($250) Cynthia Arriaga Brian Aycock Wayne Backus Joe Bellar

Lisa Carswell Jef Conn

Carolyn Crowson Doug Davis

Bill deTournillion Curt Douglass

Shannon Dunlap Vanessa Dirks Norma Edwards

Brad Elder Linda Ferguson Cade Fowler Linda Gaither Tim Garrett Kent Gamble Ella Glover Tim Grissom

Lone Star Statesmen ($250) - continued Pat Ham

Fred Hardin Kendra Harris Jay Herrin Larry Jones Cindi Lea

Jana Longbotham Kathy Marable Mark McMillan Jerrod Reep

Ginger Robertson Susan Shakespeare

Winn Sikes Liz Smart

Shari Straley Dan Williams

110 Club ($110) Stephanie Allison Tricia Anderson Lindsey Bartley

John Bost June Burks

Leigh Anne Brozo Bobbe Crawford Darelene Fillman

Rick Fowler Paul Garrett

Mary Ann Grafft Steve Gwinn Ken Harlan

Nathan Jordan Nita Kiesling Sharon Lee Don Lynn Terry Manz

Russell McGuire Velma Medina Chase Marberry Joe L. Murfee, III David Myers

110 Club ($110) - continued Jimmy Noland Rita Paxton Jim Rosson

Ruan Samuels Lela Tackitt Gary Tapp

Rachel Townsley Debby Tullis

Donna Westfall Cindy Wilkinson

Invest online at

www.texasrealtors.com

Year-to-Date Investments $45,427

Year-to-Date Participation 53%

Thank You Investors!Thank You Investors!Thank You Investors!Thank You Investors! As REALTORS® and private property owners, you know the value of protecting the real estate industry. That’s why TREPAC is so important. Not only is it an insurance policy on your career, but it makes you the ultimate advocate for your clients, friends and family. Every legislative session, TREPAC fights to protect the interests of home owners a the local, state, and national level including protecting homeowner’s equity, requiring the licensing of mortgage brokers for consumer protection and stopping additional taxes on the sale of real property. For every TREPAC event you attend, like the upcoming Golf Tournament, Casino Night, Bingo Night, etc. your registration goes towards your overall TREPAC investment. So invest today and not only will you save money by defeating fees that take away from your income, but you also show your clients another reason why using a REALTOR® is so important.

Lubbock Associat ion of REALTORS® 12th Annual

Double Tee Gol f Tourney

Benef i t ing: T exas R eal E state P ol i t ical A ct i on Commi ttee

Date: Monday, June 2, 2014 Place: Hillcrest Country Club 4011 N Boston

11:00 a.m. Sign-In and Lunch

Driving Range & Putting Green Opens

12:30 p.m. Shotgun Start

5:30 p.m. Awards & Prizes and hors d’oeuvres

LAR

Individual Entry - $110.00 (includes lunch, green fee, cart, range balls, and 2 Mulligans)

__________________________________________ NAME

TEAM Entry - $440.00 (includes above amenities for each team player)

__________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ NAME

Want to

adver

tise a

t the

tourna

ment?

Call H

olly

for de

tails,

795-95

33.

Please return or mail completed form and total funds due to the: Lubbock Association of REALTORS 5015 Knoxville Avenue Lubbock, TX 79413 Questions? Call Holly McBroom at 795-9533 TOTAL ENCLOSED: $_____________ or email hollymcbroom@lubbockrealtors.com. (Checks payable to TREPAC)

Live &

Silent

Auctions