eNewsletter Friday, March 31, 2017

Views & News

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Passaic County Board of REALTORS®

Views & News

Friday, March 31, 2017

With National Flood Insurance Program Expiring in Six Months, Realtors® Sound the Alarm

On September 30, just six months from today, the National Flood Insurance Program will expire. The National Association of Realtors® is working closely (link is external) with federal regulators and members of Congress to strengthen the program (link is external) and clear the way for a

private market to take hold; NAR has also issued a series of principles (link is external) to improve access and affordability for consumers.

But Realtors® warn the program's September 30 reauthorization deadline is a threat to consumers.

March 2017 Business Creation Index-

More Businesses Are Opening!

The new Business Creation Index (BCI) was created to monitor local economic conditions from the perspective of NAR's commercial members. The quarterly report offers insight from commercial real estate professionals into whether businesses are opening or closing by industry, population

density, and subregion. On a monthly basis, it tracks three key questions related to local market conditions:

An increase of businesses opening in local communities in the last 30 days
An increase of businesses closing in local communities in the last 30 days
Net businesses opening and closing in local communities in the last 30 days.

Download

Contract Signings Up 5.5 percent

NAR's pending home sales index for February was up 5.5 percent from the previous month, which suggests strong demand from buyers despite rising prices and interest rates and a shortage of homes for sale, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says. Pending sales are a forward looking indicator that suggest what the market will look like over the net couple of months.

Summary and video.

Related: Yun Explains the Housing Shortage

New Jersey CE Deadline Information

Less than 30 Days Away-

CHECK YOUR TRANSCRIPT!!!

The New Jersey Real Estate Commission mandates that all real estate licensees complete 12 continuing education credits every two years to maintain their licenses.

Summary:

You must complete 12 continuing education credit hours
At least two hours must be completed in ethics training
At least six hours must be completed in core topics (ethics included)
The six remaining hours may be completed in core or elective topics
April 30th First Deadline prior to penalty
May 1-June 30, 2017: Licensees may submit CE credits, but are subject to a $200 late fee
July 1, 2017: New CE Term begins (2017-2019) All licensees who did not renew or submit CE credits may no longer practice real estate until license is reinstated.

Check your current CE Credits by logging into PSI, the NJ State Real Estate CE Tracking System.

Still have questions? Click here for NJ REALTORS® FAQs!

In-Person Training Resources at PCBOR

Online Training Resources with the CE Shop

Webinars: Smart Homes and Millennials

Two new webinars are available at the REALTOR® Store:

"How to Reach Millennials Through

Instagram and Snapchat" and "Tech Trends 2017: Smart Home Products to Watch." Use code WEB17 to get 10 percent off until April 10.

ADA Website Accessibility

Learn about the uncertainty surrounding the ADA's application to websites and how you can make your website accessible.

Are you getting the internet speed you paid for?

Brought to you by the PCBOR Tech Help Line Professionals

Many Internet Services Providers (ISP) promote lightning-fast internet speeds,

but are you really

getting the speed you paid for? Here are four components that may be preventing you from getting that lightning-speed promised.

Read More

Does Virtual Staging Manipulate Buyers?

If potential buyers can't picture themselves living in a home simply by looking at a listing photo online, they'll move right along. So showcasing the best features of a property and making attractive use of the space isn't just essential for in-person showings.

Read More

Related: Virtually Changing How Consumers Shop for New Homes

Zillow Group teases latest venture: RealEstate.com for Millennials

When Zillow acquired Trulia two years ago, it also scooped up the

domain RealEstate.com as part of the deal. Anyone who types RealEstate.com into a web browser will find themselves redirected to Trulia.com. That's about to change. Yesterday, Zillow Group announced that it will introduce RealEstate.com as a consumer search

experience tailored to millennial homebuyers come May.