SRCAR Connect

<p>The date for the MLS Open Forum in March has been scheduled.  The date is March 21, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. in the large meeting room at the Association office in Murrieta.  All members are urged to attend.  Hosted by MLS Task Force Chairman Gary Crutchley.  If you are unable to attend but would like your comments (positive &amp; negative) and concerns voiced, please send them directly to Gary at <a href="mailto:gcrutchley@hotmail.com">gcrutchley@hotmail.com</a>.  Thank you.</p>

<table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="sectionheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #cc0000; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b></b></span></td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>Banks in Real Estate Call-for-Action Sent </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">AEs: Be aware that a Call for Action directed to NAR Federal Political Coordinators (FPCs) was sent yesterday to help spur additional cosponsors to NAR-backed Community Choice in Real Estate Act, which would permanently prohibit national banking conglomerates from owning real estate brokerage and management operations. Although the number of cosponsors on both the House and Senate bills (H.R. 111 and S. 413, respectively) is growing, more cosponsors are needed. To view the list of members who've signed on so far, <a title="blocked::http://go-to.realtor.org/h/EXV5R/301GO/GX/H0SH3" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/EXV5R/301GO/GX/H0SH3">click here.</a> </td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>Commercial Real Estate Index Hovering at Record High </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">A forward-looking index for the commercial real estate market, the Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity, has increased for seven consecutive quarters and is holding at the highest level on record, NAR says. The index rose 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter to a level of 120.1 from an index of 120.0 in the third quarter, and is 1.8 percent above the fourth quarter of 2005 when it stood at 118.1. NAR's track of the index dates back to 1990. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, says growth in the commercial real estate sectors appears to be reaching a plateau. &quot;The rate of expansion has been fairly tame over the last three quarters, which means that growth in commercial real estate sectors is likely to be modest,&quot; he says. For more info, <a title="blocked::http://go-to.realtor.org/h/16PB4/301GO/GX/H0SH3" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/16PB4/301GO/GX/H0SH3">click here.</a> </td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>NAR Testifies at Hurricane Katrina Field Hearing </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">The federal government must come forward with a natural disaster insurance program, Mark Rodi, president-elect of the Louisiana Association of REALTORS®, testified at a U.S. House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee field hearing in late February. Rodi also talked about the need for automatic program waivers of assisted housing programs during a natural disaster and incentives to boost affordable housing construction in the Gulf region. </td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>Terrorism Insurance in the Congressional Spotlight </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">The U.S. Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee have ambitious agendas planned for looking at renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act, which expires at the end of the year. Both the chairs of the Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), and the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank (D-Mass.), have indicated that extending the terrorism insurance program is a priority. Uncertainty on the future of the terrorism insurance program could prompt insurance premiums to fluctuate significantly, and might prompt insurers to add language to policy renewals that would drop terrorism coverage should the law expire. </td></tr></tbody></table>

<table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="sectionheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #cc0000; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b></b></span></td></tr><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>NAR Donates $1 million to Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">Underscoring its mission to make home ownership viable for all Americans, NAR made a $1 million contribution to the Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King , Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs presented the donation yesterday at the U.S. Capitol to Reps. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.), and Harry E. Johnson, Sr., president of the MLK National Memorial Foundation. &quot;NAR is an outspoken advocate for fair housing, an ally in the fight against predatory lending practices, and an organization that prides itself on building communities,&quot; said Combs. &quot;We are proud to be a part of the effort to build a permanent home to honor Dr. King on our National Mall.&quot; To read Comb's full remarks, <a title="blocked::http://go-to.realtor.org/h/WTJU7/301GO/GX/H0SH3" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/WTJU7/301GO/GX/H0SH3">click here.</a> </td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>NAR: Existing-home Sales Improve </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500"><p>Sales of existing homes rose in January, reaching the highest level in seven months, NAR says. Total existing-home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, increased 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million units from an upwardly revised pace of 6.27 million in December. Sales were 4.3 percent below the 6.75 million-unit level in January 2006. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, cautions against overreacting to the sales gain, or to other short-term effects. &quot;Although we're expecting existing-home sales to gradually rise this year, and buyers are responding to the price correction, some unusually warm weather helped boost sales in January,&quot; he says. &quot;On the flip side, the winter storms that disrupted so much of the country in February could negatively impact the housing market.&quot; For more info, <a title="blocked::http://go-to.realtor.org/h/MSWIZ/301GO/GX/H0SH3" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/MSWIZ/301GO/GX/H0SH3">click here.</a> </p><p><table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NAR Approaching Century Mark </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">NAR turns 100 years old in 2008. The association's leaders are planning a yearlong series of events to commemorate a century of leadership and service in the real estate industry. Beginning with a kickoff in Las Vegas in Nov. 2007 at the REALTORS® Conference &amp; Expo and ending in Orlando, Fla., at the 2008 national convention, look for celebrations, recognitions, and communications. </td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody></table>

Attention all SRCAR REALTORS.  Do you have opinions on the MLS?  Do you want an opportunity to voice your opinions?  Gary Crutchley, Chairman of the MLS Task Force will be scheduling an MLS Open Forum in March at the Association office in Murrieta (large meeting room) .  Start thinking about your comments, solutions and even your wish list to bring to this open forum.  This will be your opporunity to voice your suggestions on improving the MLS in all areas (system, policy or even marketing meetings).  You may also voice comments on what you like and what is working.  Please stay tuned for the exact date and time.  Thank you.

On Tuesday Night, February 20, 2007 at 11:00PM, MRMLS Matrix will be offline to upgrade its Hot Sheets. Starting Wednesday morning, February 21, 2007, Hot Sheets 2.0 will be in MRMLS Matrix. If you have existing customized Hot Sheets, the criteria will be automatically moved to a Save Search and added to your Hot Searches.<br />
Questions &amp; Answers:<br />
Q. What is a Hot Sheet? <br />
A. A Hot Sheet is used to display a quick market update of the areas an agent most frequently works.<br />
Example Usage of a Hot Sheet: An agent wants to see newly active or expired listings within a designated farm area.<br />
Q. What will happen to my existing customized Hot Sheets? Will I lose them?<br />
A. Current customized Hot Sheet criteria will automatically be saved and added to your Hot Searches on the Home Tab. All functionality will remain.<br />
Q. How do I customize a Hot Sheet?<br />
A. From the Home Tab, click the Customize link under Hot Sheets. Choose your Property Type, Change Type, and Area. Click Search and Matrix will return the results and save your Hot Sheet. The next time you login, click Customized Personal Hot Sheet and you will receive all updated market data since the last time you clicked the link.<br />
Q. Will the new Hot Sheet show me if a listing is “new,” “Back On Market,” or has a “price change?”<br />
A. Yes, look under the Change Type column on the results screen to see these changes <br />
and more.<br />

Attention all SRCAR REALTORS.  Do you have opinions on the MLS?  Do you want an opportunity to voice your opinions?  Gary Crutchley, Chairman of the MLS Task Force has scheduled an MLS Open Forum for Friday, February 23, 2007 at the Association office in Murrieta (large meeting room) and you are invited to attend.  Bring your comments, solutions and even your wish list to this open forum.  This is your opporunity to voice your suggestions on improving the MLS in all areas (system, policy or even marketing meetings).  You may also voice comments on what you like and what is working.  Please make your plans to attend.  See you all on the 23rd.

The amended Bylaws for the Southwest Riverside County Association of REALTORS have been approved and will become effective on March 1, 2007.  Copies of the amended SRCAR Bylaws will be available on the SRCAR Website at <a href="http://www.srcar.org">www.srcar.org</a> or in hard copy at the Association office in Murrieta on March 1, 2007.  Thank you to all SRCAR REALTORS who voted on the amended SRCAR Bylaws.  Your participation was greatly appreciated.

<table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="sectionheader"></td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>Broker Liable for Misleading Client </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">A broker had breached his fiduciary duty to a client by misrepresenting the status of negotiations with owners of lots the client wanted and also the owners' willingness to sell the lots, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled, affirming the trial court decision. To read a summary of the case, <a title="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/FKVFU/EXCJY/HK/53M9K" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/FKVFU/EXCJY/HK/53M9K">click here.</a> </td></tr><!– End of story –><!– Itemheader –><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><b>Nondisclosure Alone Cannot Overturn Arbitration </b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">An arbitrator's failure to disclose his minimal contact with one of the party's attorneys did not require vacating an arbitration award, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled, reversing an earlier ruling it had made, and sending the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. The case involved a patent infringement matter, in which a software company alleged that a mortgage company had unlawfully copied portions of the software for use in its operations. To read a summary of the case, <a title="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/DW0JR/EXCJY/HK/53M9K" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/DW0JR/EXCJY/HK/53M9K">click here.</a> </td></tr></tbody></table>

<table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="itemheader"></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">NAR submitted a statement urging a coordinated federal housing response to provide immediate shelter for disaster victims and urged reform of national flood insurance efforts, including updating flood maps, in response to a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the federal response to Katrina. </td></tr></tbody></table>

<table width="507"><tbody><tr><td class="itemheader"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: 900; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: #003399; PADDING-TOP: 3px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b></b></span></td></tr><!– Story –><tr><td class="blacktext" width="500">The Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007, H.R. 365, passed by the House in early February, would require EPA to work with the National Institute for Standards and Technology to establish voluntary guidelines to help states and localities remediate former meth labs. EPA would also conduct research on various clean up methods. The Senate is expected to pass similar legislation, although a bill has yet to be introduced. NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs sent a letter supporting the research effort. To read NAR's letter, <a title="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/2OP47/EXCJY/HK/53M9K" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/2OP47/EXCJY/HK/53M9K">click here.</a> To read the House bill, <a title="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/GD2NZ/EXCJY/HK/53M9K" href="http://go-to.realtor.org/h/GD2NZ/EXCJY/HK/53M9K">click here.</a> </td></tr></tbody></table>