Howard County Association of REALTORS^®
December President's Report
by Barbara N. Seely
December 1999

Also available in Adobe Acrobat!

Wow! Where has the time gone? Soon the holidays will be here and we will all ring in the New Year! I hope it has been a great 1999 for all of you!

NAR Convention Highlights: The NAR Board of Directors has appropriated $4.5 million to fund an intensive radio and television advertising campaign to build REALTOR.COM brand awareness. Stuart Wolff, CEO of Homestore.com which operates REALTOR.COM for NAR, said that the site is now updating more than 1 million listings daily and that REALTOR.COM has 79% market share. In the area of ethics and mediation, the NAR Board amended the bylaws to require local associations to offer mediation and arbitration to its members in cases of contractual disputes between REALTORS®. The board also approved a series of proposals to mandate ethics training for new members and continuous training every four years for current members, and to require boards to appoint a qualified person to administer the enforcement of the Code of Ethics. On the technology front, NAR will soon be offering a REALTOR ® Technology Certification Program! This is the industry's first comprehensive standard endorsed by NAR for brokers/owners and agents to achieve the necessary skills to successfully make a smooth transition into the age of the Internet Powered Consumer. The course consists of 4 sections and the certification will be accessed through REALTOR® University enabling you to obtain competency easily and conveniently online! Go to REALTOR.COM for more details at OneRealtorPlace.

Here at HCAR…just a reminder that time is running out for dues renewal. All renewals must be in to HCAR by December 31st. You can either send your check to HCAR, 8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 600, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3737, or you can renew online. And while you're renewing, please don't forget to donate to RPAC. We have made great political strides but have a long way to go. It is through REALTORS® supporting RPAC that we can accomplish so much more. Any donation will be appreciated.

Just a reminder…when doing any advertising the law requires that all brokers' names and phone numbers must be clearly identified in your ads. The Maryland Real Estate Commission will be checking the ads and offenders could face severe penalties, including the loss of your license and fines. So let's all do the right thing!