Howard County Association of REALTORS^®
August President's Report
by Blaine Milner
August 2001

Also available in Adobe Acrobat!

Have you gotten a little tired of your non-REALTOR^® friends and acquaintances saying "Gosh! You must be having a good year!" Then feeling the need to explain to them that although in many ways it is a "good year", it would be a lot better year if there were more listings to show and therefore have half a chance of getting an offer accepted for your frustrated buyers. We don't want the demand to decrease, but it sure would be a relief if we had enough supply to meet the demand!

On the listing side, it's nice to know that a well-staged property will sell quickly. However, many of us who have been in the business for a while find it difficult to advise our sellers on the list price. I sometimes think that we know too much. We have been through market cycles before, and we know what most houses are worth. We know what the fair market range should be; however, that doesn't cut it in this market. Trying to use logic is a good way to lose the listing to another agent who is willing to list it up to the seller's expectations.

Appraisers and lenders who have pretty much gone along for the ride are now starting to balk at overpriced contracts. They know from past experience that there are going to be some disappointed buyers, who as sellers will need to bring a lot of money to the settlement table in a few years when they need to move. Guess where the fingers are going to be pointed then? On the bright side, it is another good reason for the public to select an ethical agent who is willing to give them knowledgeable and honest counsel. Maybe there still is a need for the human element in real estate. It's hard to get that kind of comfortable feeling "on line". Remember that most of our new business comes from satisfied old business.

HCAR REALTOR^® OF THE YEAR: Ilene Kessler, RE/MAX Advantage Realty
Ilene has worked tirelessly to promote the best interests of HCAR and our community at the Local, State and National levels. Bravo, Ilene!

HCAR COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Vivian Feen, RE/MAX Advantage Realty
Vivian, while chairing a very active and successful Education Committee, providing our membership with excellent educational classes, has also continued actively serving our community in many non-real estate related civic and humanitarian functions and organizations. Kudos, Vivian!

If you want your local, state and national real estate associations to continue to represent your best interests; follow the examples of these two winners and many other leaders in our industry. Stop saying "I don't have time" when you are asked for a little of your time, knowledge and energy. Otherwise, you may end up with more time than business. I have found that those who have gotten involved never ask "what has HCAR done for me lately?" If you want good leadership, become a good leader! Volunteer to assist your association! We will soon be appointing members to Committees for 2002, so please let us know which Committee you want to work with and visit our web site at www.hcar.org to learn more about our organization.

We are proud of our Howard County which was recently granted the All-America City Award!

Thanks to all of our members who donated to RPAC! Our association has met its fundraising goal for 2001.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament at the Timbers at Troy golf course. Please visit our online photo gallery.

Don't forget to register for the MAR Annual Conference in Ocean City which is scheduled for September 10-12. You can register online by visiting www.mdrealtor.org. We hope to see you there!