The September 2011 MLS statistics will be released on Tuesday morning, and here are some quick takeaways: September sales of single-family homes climbed 16.9 percent versus one year earlier. This increase follows home sales gains recorded in January, June, July and August of this year. On a year-to-date basis, sales were up 3.2 percent. All segments of the housing market, from the sub-$80,000 to the $500,000 and above, experienced positive sales in September. The average price of a single-family home rose 0.4 percent from September 2010 to $213,334, the highest level for a September in Houston. The single-family home median price increased 1.6 percent to $157,500, also a record high level for a September. For more detailed information, please visit for this report and all other news releases. September MLS Sales Statistics

November 8 th Elections DATES TO KNOW Early Voting: Monday, October 24 through Friday, November 4 Election Day: Tuesday, November 8 For more information, including polling locations and to identify your City Council Member, please visit Please click image at left to download voter guide.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) HAR has developed a research tool to assist members with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via search This tool allows you to manage keyword ranking on search engines. You can click on one of the provided generic keywords or enter a keyword of your own to automatically view the ranking for that particular keyword on the search engine of your choice. Click here to learn more about the HAR Search Engine Optimization tool.Click here to learn more about the HAR Search Engine Optimization tool HAR Tool of the Week

Weekly HAR Market Stat Mortgage rates seem to reach new record lows almost weekly. Not only is the Fed achieving its goal, but home buyers are coming off the sidelines and meandering into the market. Purchase demand increased since the same week in Seller activity slowed since last year as fewer new listings entered the market. If this combination of activity continues, it will manifest itself in inventory levels and absorption rates. In the Houston region, for the week ending October 9: New Listings decreased 9.1% to 1,673 Pending Sales increased 34.2% to 1,106 Closed Sales decreased 0.5% to 620

Register Online at Questions? ext. 6 Improve Your Professional Outlook Microsoft Outlook This class is for real estate professionals who are ready to integrate e-marketing solutions into their business. It not only covers creating distribution lists for mass ing purposes, but also includes managing categorized contacts, performing mail mergers, generating mailing labels, task management and other contact management features in Outlook. It is for experienced agents who regularly check their and are prepared to interact using a more productive contact management program. THIS CLASS DOES NOT COVER BASICS. Date: Wednesday, October 26 Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Location: HAR Central Investment: $50