The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business In This Week’s “The EDGE” Get Involved in Your Community Time is Running Out For Early Voting Houston Market Movements Come to Class Prepared “The Edge” is a weekly tool for managers to use to inform their agents and stay current and up-to-date with important real estate industry issues. Brought to you by the HAR Communications Department.

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Since 1984, the City of Houston has held public meetings to collect citizen input before preparing the Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP. These meetings, held in each of the eleven city council districts (A-K), provide Houstonians with an opportunity to participate in the CIP process by contributing comments and suggestions about needed services and improvements. The CIP includes large, long-term projects such as parks, buildings, roads and libraries. HAR encourages all REALTORS® who live or are property owners in Houston to take advantage of this important opportunity to get involved in your community and hear from our elected representatives. Houston City Council Members, Mayor Sylvester Turner and department heads will attend most of these meetings, which will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The complete 2016 CIP meeting schedule is available on HAR Connect.HAR Connect Get Involved in Your Community

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Early Voting for the 2016 Primary Election began last week and wraps up this Friday, February 26, so don’t delay if you want to vote early! If you prefer not to participate in early voting, you may cast your vote on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, March 1. For information about the election, including a complete rundown of the HAR recommended candidates, please visit HAR Connect.HAR Connect Time is Running Out For Early Voting

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Two central topics of conversation continue to be mortgage rates and the number of homes for sale. Turbulent financial markets have given way to even lower mortgage rates, bringing up the question of what will happen to rates as the year continues. As for the Houston landscape… In the Houston region, for the week ending February 14: New Listings increased 6.3% to 2,574 Pending Sales increased 16.0% to 1,860 Closed Sales decreased 14.4% to 952 Houston Market Movements

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business