Briefly... Inside... - Chattanooga Bar Association

28 Friday, December 24, 2010 www.hamiltoncountyherald.com
HAMILTON COUNTY HERALD
(423) 698-8001
Fax: (423) 698-8004
Founded in 1912
Year-end home sales continue downward trend according to MLS
November statistics fall below
prior month and 2009 levels
The local real estate market
continued its year-end lackluster
performance according to data
released by the Multiple Listing
Service (MLS) of the Greater
Chattanooga Association of
Realtors. In November of this
year, Southeast Tennessee and
the Northwest Georgia area saw
the sale of 371 residential units, a
13.1 percent decrease compared
to the previous month’s sales,
and a decline of 27.1 percent
from the same period last year.
“As disheartening as these
statistics are, showing our mar-
ket as having lapsed into an
almost chronic weakened state,
those who follow our monthly
trends and analysis have not
been taken by surprise,” said
association president Randy
Durham. “Still, it is noteworthy
that our unit sales for the first
11 months of the year are up 4.1
percent in 2010 over last year.
That is a great achievement in
a market that has shown little
good news.”
“So many factors have come
to bear on market performance
– lack of job opportunities, tightened
credit standards, foreclosures
that are consistently at the
Upcoming knowledge opportunities for Realtors!
Now is a great time to enhance your Realtor knowledge and skills
through the many professional development courses offered at
Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors.
Basic Solid Earth MLS Training
Monday, December 27
3 – 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Bonnie Rogers
FREE – NO CE, but great learning opportunity!
Limited to 10 participants
Build A Work Week Calendar Workshop
Tuesday, December 28
11 a.m. – noon
Facilitator: Susan Barnette
FREE – NO CE, but great learning opportunity!
Grab your lunch and continue your efforts on
planning a successful 2011!
We will discuss the why of having a daily schedule
and you will leave with a plan!
Bring your own planner or you can purchase a
BOSS Time Management System in the Realtor
Marketplace (Store).
Short Sales – What Is A Short Sale?
Wednesday, January 5
8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Instructor: Todd Sholar
$20
2 hours TN CE
**GA CE also available with special stipulations
A complete explanation of a short sale by Todd
Sholar, attorney.
w w w . c h a t t R e a l t o r s . c o m
30 percent level, are all factors
that immediately come to mind
– that it can be easy to surrender
to the common pessimism that’s
all around us. But I reject that as
an option,” he added.
“Looking at 2010 as a
whole, and the sales successes
of the spring, we tend to forget
about the positive effect of the
Homebuyer’s Tax Credit,” he
added. “Since it expired, there
has been very little incentive for
buyers to get into the market,
and the lenders are still waiting
to see how the current tax
legislation will play out and the
ultimate fate of Fannie Mae and
HOW TO REGISTER FOR A CLASS
You may register online for a class by going to our Web site at www.ChattRealtors.com. Click
on the Education Calendar, click link at top and find the course you would like to take then click
on : Click Here To Register.
Complete the registration form and then click the submit button. You will receive an automatic
confirmation that your information has been received. However, you will also need to check
the class registration confirmation page to confirm that you are registered. All regular CE costs are
$10 per credit hour for Realtors. Designation courses are priced differently. See online registration
for the prices of Designation courses.
You may also contact the association office for a printed form that can be filled out and faxed
at your convenience.
If you are having trouble registering for a class, please contact Susan at the association office,
423-698-8001.
For all LUNCH & LEARN seminars, please grab some lunch before you come!
Unless otherwise noted, all of the following classes will take place in the GCAR Knowledge
Services Department.
To cancel a class, you must submit an e-mail or fax, written notice required. If no cancellation
is received, cost of class is forfeited. If class is FREE a $50 “No Show” fee will be assessed/charged.
Tug of War, Short Sales, Multiple Offers & You
Wednesday, January 5
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: Todd Sholar
$20
2 hours TN CE
**GA CE also available with special stipulations
Learn how to work a short sale with as few issues
as possible.
Close The Tough Ones!
Wednesday, January 5
2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Todd Sholar
$20
2 hours TN CE
**GA CE also available with special stipulations
Get it to closing – that is what everyone wants!
LUNCH & LEARN – HUD Training/Forum
Thursday, January 6
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Panel of Facilitators
FREE – NO CE, but great learning opportunity!
Grab your lunch and join us to learn the new
HUD bidding processes.
** To receive GA CE credit, you must attend
all three courses. If you attend all three courses
you will receive 6 hrs GA CE.
Freddie Mac.”
Chattanooga Area MLS
President Bobby Teems voiced
concern that has now become
an important theme among
Realtors nationally. “I know that
the president’s Deficit Reduction
Commission was composed of
well meaning people who are
searching for answers to the hard
debt questions our nation is facing,
but it is beyond my comprehension
as to why they would
even consider elimination of the
Mortgage Interest Deduction for
home buyers.”
Durham agreed saying,
“Our economists at NAR
(National Association of
Realtors) have carefully studied
the effects that such a plan
would unleash, and there can be
no positive result for the national,
regional or local economies.
Conceivably, it could be the
most destructive force in the
U.S. housing market in decades.
I urge everyone to contact their
Congressional representatives
and U.S. senators and defeat
this unprecedented threat to the
American dream of home ownership.”
Median price in the greater
Chattanooga market declined
3.8 percent from the same period
12 months ago and a saw a
sharper drop of 8.6 percent from
only a month before.
In terms of the number of
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Association Officers
Randy Durham, President; Jennifer Grayson, President-Elect; Mark Hite, Secretary/Treasurer; Nickie Schwartzkopf, Immediate Past President
Association Directors
Becky Cope, Ben Pitts, Bobby Teems, Bonnie Hamilton, Dan Griess, Jennifer Grayson, Julie Chamberlain, Mark Blazek, Mark Hite, Myra Cochran, Nathan Walldorf, Nickie Schwartzkopf,
Randy Durham, Robert Yarbrough, Russ Elliot, Susan Barnette, Vicki Trapp.
MLS Officers
Bobby Teems, President; Dan Griess, President-Elect; Pam Duffy, Secretary/Treasurer
MLS Directors
Becky Cope, Bobby Teems, Byron Kelly, Dan Griess, Jennifer Grayson, Kathy Tucker, Mark Blazek, Mark Hite, Pam Duffy, Randy Durham, Russ Elliot, Steve Champion
average days on the local market,
November 2010 saw an increase
of almost three weeks from the
same month in 2009, but only
four days from October of this
year.
The Greater Chattanooga
Association of Realtors, the
region’s premier voice for real
estate, is made up of real estate
professionals engaged in every
aspect of real estate throughout
Southeast Tennessee and
Northwest Georgia.
Statistical and informational
sources: U.S. Department of the
Treasury (USTREAS.GOV); Fed-
eral Reserve System (FederalReserve.
gov); U.S. Department of Labor
(BLS.GOV); U.S. Department of
Housing & Urban Development
(HUD); State of Tennessee (TennesseeAnytime.org);
Hamilton
County (HamiltonTN.gov); City
of Chattanooga (Chattanooga.
gov); MoodysEconomy.com; Ray-
mond James & Associates; The
Wall Street Journal; Point2
Technologies; Fannie Mae; Freddie
Mac; REUTERS.COM; The
Associated Press; MarketVector.
com; JohnTucillo.com; Bankrate.
com; RealEstateABC.com; The
Real Estate Book (rismedia.com);
The National Association of
Realtors(REALTOR.ORG);
Greater Chattanooga Association
of Realtors MLS; and other sources
deemed, but not guaranteed, to
be reliable. v