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Carver Communications - Index

Carver Communications - 5.1.08 - Index

By Bob Lapinski,
Alamo Institute Instructor
Keeping Current in Real Estate:
The Real Estate Center
TREC Canons of Professional
Ethics and Conduct require real estate
agents to "be informed on national, state
and local issues and developments in the
real estate industry." In the busy day-today
work, we often forget that requirement.
We also forget where to look. So I
thought I might remind you of a free
resource that is readily available and full
of great information.
This source we all pay for as part
of our licensing fees is The Real Estate
Center, and much of their information is
easily accessible online at www.recenter.tamu.edu.
Remember that article that
you read a few years ago in Tierra
Grande and you can't find anymore?
Tierra Grande is archived on the site
back to 1999. So that article on “contract
for deed” that discussed the new requirements
enacted by the legislature in 2001
is still available online. If you have a
client considering using a contract for
deed, you can print it out and give him a
copy. But this is only a small part of
what you can find there.
Under News, you can register for
upcoming events that include presentations
on the latest information by staff
members and other guest speakers from
around the state. Also available are a
number of short videos covering a variety
of topics from "2008 Home Sales
Outlook" to "The Sunbelt Builders
Show."
Under Publication you can find
current market and demographic data on
the state and all of the major market
areas. It includes Monthly Review of the
Texas Economy, a regularly updated
report containing the latest data on
where the economy is going - on both
the state and local level, which you can
only find on this site.
Additionally, there is extensive
demographic data. For example, if you
Built To Suit Your Style
May 1 2008 REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE 25
want to know what percentage of Bexar
County are college graduates (it’s 14%),
you can find that data as well as charts
comparing local, state and national
trends to help you explain to clients why
the San Antonio residential real estate
market is different than the doom and
gloom market scenarios you hear about
on the news. In fact, properties in San
Antonio have appreciated at a fairly
steady five percent per year for the last
ten years, unlike properties in other
states that have appreciated at 10% per
year during that same period and jumped
20% or more in 2004 to 2006. This
explains why San Antonio doesn't have a
"bubble" to burst, and why our market
has not seen the 15 to 30% drop in home
values that other markets around the
country have seen. Articles and technical
reports by the staff are also available to
download.
Under Resources is a listing
called Presentations, which contains the
slides used during various presentations
by the staff. The presentations are usually
professionally prepared and present
information clearly. You can print and
use their slides in your client presentations
as long as you give The Real Estate
Center credit. If you are a trainer, you
may want to see if there are some that fit
nicely into your training classes. So
review this section routinely to see if
there is information that you can integrate
into your client presentations, or
you may simply want to keep some
slides readily accessible in case a question
comes up. For example, if you are at
a listing presentation and your potential
client is concerned that he will not be
able to sell his house because housing
prices have dropped so much. It might
be nice to pull out a slide and show him
that while that is true nationally, it is not
true for San Antonio. This may reassure
the seller, and also help you get the listing.
There is an abundance of useful
and topical information on this site, so
bookmark it and visit it regularly.
Remember, you have a duty to stay
abreast of the developments in the real
estate industry, but being knowledgeable
is also good business. If you are
informed on current affairs affecting the
real estate industry, it will be readily
apparent to your clients, and it just may
give them the confidence to trust you
with the sale or purchase of their home -
and to freely recommend you to others.
Alamo Institute, a family-owned
and operated business since 1994, is San
Antonio’s choice provider for real estate
pre-licensing instruction and mandatory
continuing education. Alamo Institute
offers a quality, affordable real estate
education delivered by knowledgeable
and experienced real estate professionals
in a comfortable classroom environment,
while delivering the extras like a
sincere willingness to help that only a
family operator can provide. Alamo
Institute - There’s no Substitute for the
Classroom. For more information or to
register for courses, call (210) 826-
2699. online at
www.alamoinstitute.com
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