Announcements

CBR Elections

Directors -- Online!

On November 7, eligible members will be e-mailed a notice of your opportunity to vote online for your CBR Directors. The e-mail will include two unique identifiers (Member ID and PIN#) which you will need to log in to vote at CBRelections.com.

Following are the candidates who will appear on your ballot:

REALTOR® Director Candidates -- vote for no more than 4
Dave Arthur, Cam Taylor Co., Ltd, REALTORS®
Terry Bryant, Coldwell Banker King Thompson
Gloria Cannon, Coldwell Banker King Thompson
David Hartsook, Hartsook Real Estate Corp.
Milt Lustnauer, RE/MAX Premier Choice
Carol Prigan, HER Real Living
Lari Madosky Shaw, Coldwell Banker King Thompson
Linda Whiting, HER Real Living
Affiliate Director Candidates -- vote for no more than 1
David McKee, Priority Mortgage Corp.
Mike Troutman, Ohio Savings Bank

Voting ends at Noon on Friday, November 17, 2006. Results will be posted on the web site the following Monday after the Nominating Committee meets to ratify the election. Detailed information about the online voting process is available at ColumbusRealtors.com.

MLS Committee Election -- traditional mail

Ballots and voting information will be mailed to MLS Participants (brokers) in mid November and are due back mid December (dates not yet determined.) For details about the MLS Committee Election, see page 37.

Commercial Section Election - traditional mail

Ballots and voting information for the Commercial Section positions will be mailed to Commercial Section members in mid December. Results will be posted on the web site and included in the January magazine.

KeyBox Exchange -- January 2007

CBR has decided to transition completely from the AEII KeyBox (in use here for the last nine years) to the iBox (sold exclusively for the last three years). Although the negotiation/contract is not signed, we expect this conversion to be a one for one exchange -- with no out of pocket cost to you.

The iBOX uses infrared technology allowing users to just "point and beam" your KEYpad (or certain PDAs/phones) at the iBOX to release the key container, release the shackle or program the KeyBox.

If you continue to use the DisplayKEY, there will be no increase in annual fee. However, if you choose to use your PDA or smart phone (if compatible), you will have a choice of two types of plans, the most expensive of which should be about the same or less than eKey users are paying right now.

For those of you using the eKey, this conversion to all iBoxes will allow you to eliminate the large clamshell case required for use with the old AEII KeyBox.

So, the bottom line, no out of pocket money to get new iBoxes for your old AEIIs and no increase in service fees -- unless you choose to upgrade your service. Complete details, plans, fees, etc. will be provided in the next In Contract magazine. But we thought you'd like to receive this news right now!

Travel Expenses higher than housing costs

"A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families" found that in 17 of the 28 metropolitan areas studied, the average transportation expenses for working families with annual incomes from $20,000 to $50,000 were actually higher than their housing costs.

Overall, across all 28 metro areas, working families spend an average of 28 percent, or $9,700, of their incomes on housing and nearly 30 percent, or $10,400, on transportation, for an average combined housing-transportation cost that adds up to 57 percent of income. Transportation costs are based on auto ownership, auto use and public transit use and take into account the cost of commuting, as well as traveling for school, errands and other daily routines.

"Working families are increasingly moving further from their jobs to find affordable housing. Yet, we found that many of these families end up spending more on transportation costs than they save on housing," said Jeffrey Lubell, executive director of the Center for Housing Policy.

Although Columbus was not one of the 28 metros and the census and labor data used was older, the results mimic other findings and clearly support the need to provide affordable housing for our residents within reasonable proximityto their employment.

Help from NAR

New Buying and Selling Guides

NAR is releasing its first official guides to help home buyers and sellers. Called The National Association of REALTORS® Guide to Home Buying and The National Association of REALTORS® Guide to Home Selling, the guides combine data and expertise from NAR leaders with street-smart guidance from industry expert Blanche Evans, editor of industry publication Realty Times. The guides feature useful checklists to help consumers understand the major steps of the buying and selling processes, and explain why REALTORS® are valuable allies in the real estate transaction and help consumers find a REALTOR® in their area.

New Customer Satisfaction Tracker

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Research Group has rolled out an e-mail customer satisfaction survey that broker members can send to their associates' clients immediately after a closing to gauge their satisfaction with the services they received. Keeping the results confidential, NAR will track the responses in aggregate to measure trends in industry-wide satisfaction and send participants specific results for their company. There's no cost to brokers. For more information, email your questions to eresearch@realtors.org

New legal publication

NAR has announced the release of its new REALTOR® Benefits Publication, Real Estate Brokerage Essentials: Managing Legal and Business Issues. This publication, created by NAR's legal staff and industry experts, has been designed as a comprehensive legal guide specifically for brokers to help them minimize their risks of legal liability. Formerly published under the title Don't Risk It!, this latest version includes updated information about several recent government requirements including do not call, email and fax regulations, property disclosures, antitrust and agency/broker relationships. Many new case studies are included as well as tools to assist brokers in creating legal documents and policies for the traditionally complex broker business model.

Homeowners worry more about payments than down payments

One out of three Americans worries that rising monthly payments will force them to sell their home and buy a less expensive one, according to the fourth annual National Housing Opportunity Pulse, a survey released by NAR. The survey also found that Americans believe that high monthly payments rather than high down payments are the greatest obstacle to buying a home. For more info, go to www.realtor.org/housopp.nsf/pages/pulsesurvey2006.

Watch your Inbox for your Dues Bill

Initial 2007 CBR REALTOR® dues bills will be distributed in early November via e-mail again this year. (Paper bills will be sent to members who do not have an e-mail address in the system.) This procedure is part of our ongoing effort to contain administration costs so please be sure your e-mail address is correct in the CBR TEMPOTM MLS. If you are not a member of the MLS, you can check your e-mail address through the `Find a REALTOR®' or `Find an Affiliate' search on ColumbusRealtors.com. To correct your e-mail address, call Lenora Moore at (614) 475-4000 x253 or e-mail Lenora at LMoore@ColumbusRealtors.com (please put "e-Mail correction" in the subject line). Thank you!

Affordable Green Homes

Thanks to a unique partnership including the City of Columbus, MiraCit (a local, faith-based development corporation) and builders from the BIA of Central Ohio, a pilot subdivision of affordable, single-family homes is being built on an 11-acre site of the "green neighborhood" off Woodland Avenue on the North Side. The subdivision, Green View Estates, will feature 30 homes which will include top-notch insulation and careful attention to indoor air quality.

Homes in Green View Estates will range in price from $130,000 to $180,000. It is estimated that buyers would save about $900 a year in utility bills because of the homes' energy efficiency. Homeowners also will get a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement.

Builders involved include: Medallion Homes, PDG -- Owners Development Realty, Manor Homes, Compass Homes, Daniel M. Troth and Son Builders, Italiano Developers LTD and Sovereign Homes.

MiraCit Development Corp., the community-development arm of Living Faith Apostolic Church, is developing the city owned land, which has an estimated value of $260,000. That land formerly was occupied by the 161-unit Woodland Ridge apartment complex, condemned and torn down in 1998. The city donated the land to MiraCit, and it will pay $390,000 for roadways and sidewalks in the neighborhood to make the homes more affordable. The city also will pay $850,000 for a detention pond to help with drainage in the neighborhood.

RPAC Support for the 2006 Elections

Roughly 42 percent of NAR's 1.3 million members made 2005 a record year for the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).

Because 465,000 REALTORS® contributed an average of $13.00 to RPAC in 2005, we are on track to distribute $4 million in direct contributions to federal candidates in the 2005-2006 election cycle.

RPAC contributed an additional $4 million plus in support of select congressional candidates who have been identified as "REALTOR® Champions."

RPAC independent expenditures during the 2004 cycle supported REALTOR® Champions in five successful campaigns (two Senate and three House candidates) with direct mail and television advertisements during the primary and general elections.

An additional $2.5 million from RPAC's corporate account went to NAR Opportunity Races. This program consists of a coordinated campaign of mail, phone banks, email messages and NAR staff urging REALTORS® to be active and support REALTOR® Champions in competitive elections.

RPAC supports the "REALTOR® Party," meaning we support candidates based on their support of REALTOR® issues regardless of their political party affiliation.

Minority home buying growth outpacesCaucasian growth

Minority buyers made up the fastest growing segment of all new home purchase mortgages in 2005, according to a new analysis released in early October at the Second Annual Mortgage Lending Industry Diversity and Emerging Markets Conference & Career Fair.

"The 2005 Minority Home Buying Surge" report finds that the percentage increase for all minority loans in "high volume areas" combined was three times greater in the top 20 mortgage growth metropolitan areas than for Caucasian households, and the increase for Hispanic, African American and Asian loans was up to five times greater. The report was issued by Genworth Mortgage Insurance and Compliance Technologies (ComplianceTech), cosponsors of the diversity conference.

While immigration is part of the story, the lower home-ownership rates among African Americans and Hispanics represent pent up mortgage demand that is starting to be filled.

Minorities also continue to lag behind whites in home ownership. According to a recent study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, the gap between white and minority home-ownership rates is narrowing, but remains about 25 percent. The study estimated that 76 percent of whites owned their homes in 2005, compared with 51 percent of minorities.