Suburban West Realtors Association
Suburban West Weekly
July 29th, 2020
IN THIS ISSUE
  • NAR Member Profile Now Free for Members Through Right Tools Right Now Program

  • Adapting and Advocating for Realtors® During the Pandemic

  • Broker Price Opinion Education Now Available for Registration

  • Economic and Real Estate Market Outlook With NAR's Lawrence Yun

  • School Tax Updates are Underway on SRA Database

  • Calendar of Events 
 

 



NAR Member Profile Now Free for Members Through Right Tools Right Now Program

In light of the challenges presented by COVID-19 and its impact on the real estate industry, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is continuing to take steps to support members through these uncertain times. The Right Tools, Right Now initiative makes new and existing NAR products and services available for free or at significant discounts.
Thanks to the Right Tools, Right Now program the digital download version of the 2020 NAR Member Profile is now free for members! This report reviews Realtor® demographics including: economic, education, tenure, agency relationship and compensation. In addition, it takes an in-depth look at office affiliation, type of firm, as well as the use of the Internet and technology.  This unique tool provides the answers in a user-friendly format, designed to allow easy comparisons with previous studies, using a mix of charts, graphs and tables. Chapters include (1) Business Characteristics of Realtors® (2) Business Activity of Realtors® (3) Income and Expenses of Realtors® (4) Office and Firm Affiliation of Realtors® and (5) Demographic Characteristics of Realtors®.
Click here to access the report. The digital download will be delivered to your My Account section of Realtor® Store immediately after the order is placed. You will not receive anything physically. Please note that you have to create a member account in order to access the free report. For questions please contact NAR directly by dialing 1800-874-6500.

Adapting and Advocating for Realtors® During the Pandemic

Since the pandemic, Realtors® have adapted to help buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Your associations have adapted too, tirelessly advocating for you and the real estate industry during these difficult times, including:
* the Suburban Realtors® Alliance communicating with municipalities throughout suburban Philadelphia on property transfers;
* PAR advocating for real estate to be conducted statewide and providing guidance and best practices to help members stay safe; and
* NAR working with Congress to make sure Realtors® had access to SBA programs and unemployment benefits during this unprecedented crisis.
Your Realtor® advocacy team has been the voice with our elected officials, ensuring they understand the importance of having access to shelter and the impacts of real estate on the economy. And this advocacy will continue as we collectively engage with elected leaders at all levels of government about the critical role of real estate to our economy and to citizens across the commonwealth and the country.

Broker Price Opinion Education Now Available for Registration

In late March 2020, the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission published temporary regulations concerning Broker Price Opinions (BPOs). Previously, BPOs were only permitted by licensed Appraisers. The release of the temporary regulations sets the stage for real estate salespersons, Associate Brokers and Brokers to perform BPOs. PAR has prepared an extensive FAQ document on it. Highlights are:
* Brokers must be willing to allow BPOs to be performed in the brokerage.
* Every BPO prepared by a salesperson must be signed by both the salesperson and by the broker or an Associate Broker designated by the broker.
* All participants in the BPO – salesperson and Broker/Associate Broker signor – must complete a commission-approved initial education course.
* Brokers are encouraged to check with their errors & omissions insurance providers to ensure that adding BPO services to a brokerage will be properly covered.
The Association of Realtors® School has scheduled an in-person elective Designation course that is approved by the Real Estate Commission for the BPO education requirement. The course is titled Pricing Strategy Advisor: Mastering the CMA and BPO (September 30th; 9:00am-5:00pm). For inquiries regarding this requirement or to register, please contact ARS School Administrator Gail Parke.

Economic and Real Estate Market Outlook With NAR's Lawrence Yun

Suburban West is excited to welcome NAR’s Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun for a special Webinar: Economic and Real Estate Market Outlook (August 18th; 10:00am-10:30am) highlighting the latest economic and real estate market indicators and trends with a special emphasis on our region. Dr. Yun will cover: (1) recent developments in the housing market (national and local) (2) the direction of home prices in the next 12 to 24 months (3) comparisons with past housing cycles (4) economic backdrop and (5) forecast of economy and housing market. After the presentation, Dr. Yun will be answering members’ questions in a real-time Q & A session. Click here to register as registration is limited!
Suburban West is also holding a variety of additional free training opportunities in August including:
* August 6th; 10:00am - 11:30am - Bright Webinar: Intro to Bright MLS

School Tax Updates are Underway on SRA Database

Pennsylvania school districts operate on a fiscal year of July 1st to June 30th, meaning new tax rates recently took effect in many local districts. SRA staff are currently updating the municipal database to reflect the new millage rates. Users should note the "Tax Applicable For Year" field in the database to confirm that a listed rate applies to the new fiscal year of 2020-2021.
It's worth noting that newspaper coverage of school budgets has declined drastically in recent years, making the update process a bit harder. However, the Pennsylvania Department of State publishes an official list of all school tax rates, typically around the end of July, which the SRA will use to verify the database's information.
School taxes and the Delaware County Comprehensive Reassessment: The new tax property assessments, which homeowners received notice of earlier this month, will take effect for the 2021-2022 school year that begins July 1st, 2021. Homeowners have until September 1st, 2020, to appeal their new assessment values.
For more news items from the Suburban Realtors® Alliance, click here to access their Weekly News Briefs.
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Suburban West REALTORS Association
1 Country View Road, Suite 201, Malvern PA 19355
P: 610-560-4800 | F: 610-560-4801
Association of REALTORS School
1 Country View Road, Suite 101, Malvern PA 19355
P: 610-560-4900 | F: 610-560-4801
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