Welcome to Capitol & Market, our all-member source for industry and advocacy news, legal updates, housing market insights, education and professional development opportunities for Indiana REALTORS®.

Spring is a busy season for REALTORS®, and we have plenty of association updates and opportunities to share as well; in fact, there's too much news for just one newsletter, so watch for another Capitol & Market next week with a March market report and more. 

It’s that time again: We're collecting member feedback on the benefits, services and programs we provide as your state association and we want to hear from you. Please take a few minutes next week to complete the annual IAR all-member survey and let us know how we're doing:

Senior Staff Counsel Kelly Shonborn is back with another Legal Forms Tutorial Video focused on the aspects of the IAR Listing Contract required by Indiana law; understanding these requirements will help ensure your listing agreements are legally valid while potentially avoiding fraudulent seller schemes and other mishaps.  

As a reminder, this forms tutorial series will spotlight key elements of some of IAR's most commonly-used legal forms and contracts. Some forms may merit multiple videos that dive into specific topics (the first two installments are dedicated to the Listing Contract, for example), but they do not need to be watched in order; look for more additions to the series and consult them as needed via the Legal Library at IndianaRealtors.com.

Newly passed Indiana laws go into effect on July 1^st, and there’s one particular addition that you’ll be hearing much more about over the next three months from your Managing Brokers and IAR: House Enrolled Act 1252 requires any licensee who refers a client (or customer) to another licensee to disclose in writing to that client/customer if they will receive compensation for the referral.

This requirement adds steps to the process of making referrals and accepting compensation accordingly; but more importantly, this change keeps Indiana REALTORS® ahead of the curve (and potential liability) when it comes to consumer transparency on broker compensation including referral fees while ensuring that all licensees operate by the same rules.

Again, this will be the focus of more detailed outreach and training ahead of July 1st, including revisions to certain legal forms to facilitate written disclosure in compliance with state law. For now, please take a moment to look over the general overview and background:

The Housing Hub offers weekly and monthly data updates down to the township and ZIP code level – but even these areas cover a lot of ground when it comes to real estate trends that can be very different from block to block or subdivision to subdivision.

That's why we geocode and plot closed sales from the previous year on an interactive map every spring to provide a neighborhood-level look at the market.

What you’ll see on the map and how to use it:

The fourth annual Indiana REALTOR® Summer Housing Summit heads north to South Bend, our sixth-largest city. Best known as home to the University of Notre Dame, South Bend has also earned attention for its efforts in economic development, neighborhood revitalization and in-fill housing as a redevelopment priority.

This South Bend Summer Summit will feature insights on ‘college town’ real estate trends, successful strategies for housing development around campus and regional cooperation to address housing needs and attract new residents. And we'll kick things off with an expert view on how Midwestern housing markets are leveraging affordability and quality of life to appeal to homebuyers featuring Hannah Jones of Realtor.com:

We'll have more updates on agenda details and confirmed speakers in the coming weeks, but don't wait - space is limited and the conference room rate ends on May 1st! Click the image to learn more and get registered today:

Registration is open for the annual REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Washington DC, June 14-17; sign up as soon as possible at legislative.realtor.

And if you're planning to make the trip to DC, don't forget to RSVP for the  Indiana delegation reception on Sunday, June 14th from 5:00-7:00PM at Hedy’s Rooftop at the Hotel Zena. Click the button to let us know you can make it:

In case you missed it, check out this update on real estate license renewals and Continuing Education requirements; we're now less than three months from the June 30^th CE and renewal deadline!

When it comes to completing your CE before renewing your license, we've got you covered: RECP’s online, on demand member benefit CE package is already included in your IAR dues and is available now by clicking or scanning below. (IAR members, log in to RECP and do not purchase the 12-hour member benefit courses. Email info@recp.org for help logging in.)