Nancy Clancy

Phone - (307) 734-9958

Fax - (307) 734-9968

NancyClancy@jhreassociates.com

~A message from the TBOR President~

December Newsletter

Devon Viehman, Dan Visosky and Nancy Clancy in front of the
NAR Homeowernership Matters bus.

     I wanted to keep you updated from our recent trip to Anaheim, CA for the National REALTOR® Convention. There are numerous items at the state and national level receiving attention from the REALTOR® Party.

1. H.M.I.D.: NAR continues to meet with Congress to protect the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction. This important tax deduction continues to be threatened by Congress, and NAR believes this tax incentive is an important part of home ownership in America.

2. NAR is constantly meeting with Congress and the large lending institutions asking for more flexibility with the current lending guidelines. A majority of banks are requiring home buyers to provide at least a 20% down payment for a loan. NAR feels that if the banks could lower this down payment percentage, there would be more first-time home buyers in the market. NAR has also worked hard to get the conventional loan limits raised and making lower interest rates available to more homebuyers.

3. Lawrence Yun, lead economist for NAR, gave a presentation on the outlook of the national real estate market. Statistics are showing that the national real estate market will slowly improve over the next few years. A few states, like Florida and North Dakota, continue to show increases in real estate sales. Interest rates are at an all-time low, and these low rates will help stimulate the first-time homebuyers segment.

4. Call-To-Action- NAR recently did a study and found that only 12% of REALTORS® respond to Call-To-Actions. A Call-To-Action is an email that you receive from NAR or your State Association asking you to respond to an item that NAR or your State Association have taken a political stance supporting. When you respond to these Call-To-Actions, your email gets sent directly to your state or national representatives. Please respond the next time you receive a Call-To-Action email. It is VERY easy - just click on the link in the email.

NAR did an additional study regarding the Call-To-Actions. NAR found that the general public had a better response rate (20%) than REALTORS®. NAR’s point of view is that REALTORS® need to get involved and voice their opinions on items that affect our business and industry.

5. Young Professionals Network (YPN)- For those of you unfamiliar with YPN, their mission is tohelp young real estate professionals excel in their careers by giving them the tools and encouragement to become involved in four core areas (see hperlink). YPN was created by NAR and is very popular in other areas of the country. This is a great opportunity to get REALTORS® together to share ideas on technology, upcoming trends and areas of interest. Don’t let the name fool you, because there is not an age limit for the group (even Greg Prugh Sr. could be a member…).

Devon Viehman, is initiating a local YPN group for TBOR in 2012, so stay tuned and check your tweets…

6. RPAC- Please continue to invest in RPAC! You need to look at RPAC as an investment in your real estate business/career, rather than a donation.

Overall, the National REALTOR® Convention opened my eyes to all of the volunteers in our industry who are fighting for homeownership rights and giving back to their communities. If you ever attend the Convention, you will walk away recharged with new real estate ideas and be prouder to be a REALTOR®! Next year’s convention is in Orlando, FL from November 9th-12th, so put it in your calendar and pack up the kids/grandkids for Disneyworld.

UPCOMING TBOR EVENTS
December 8th at noon: REALTOR® luncheon at the Four Seasons Resort! We have been asked to carpool to the hotel as the valet parking is somewhat limited. We will be collecting money donations for the Jackson Hole Food Cupboard and please come watch your new officers get inaugurated!

December 9th from 9:00am to 6:00pm: REALTOR® Ring Day at K-Mart. Thanks to everyone who has signed up for the Salvation Army Ring Day. Please contact Tom Holland at 699-2451 if you are interested in volunteering over the holidays, the Salvation Army needs volunteers.

Thanks again for the opportunity to serve as the President of the largest REALTOR® Board in Wyoming.

Dan Visosky, 2011 President
Teton Board of REALTORS®

Associate Broker
Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates, LLC
c 307-690-6979
f 307-734-9976
DanVisosky@JHREA.com