The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business In This Week’s “The EDGE” Beware of Real Estate ‘Dangers’ U.S. Homebuilder Sentiment Slips in May Houston Market Movements How the New HAR.com Benefits YOU “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 NAR has just released The DANGER (Definitive Analysis of Negative Game Changers Emerging in Real Estate) Report, a free report identifying threats, risks and challenges facing the real estate industry. Many of the 50 items take the industry to task for low-quality agents, poor leadership, cumbersome governance structures, industry infighting and shortsightedness, particularly when it comes to the potential effects of advancing technology. The report lays out potential dangers that impact agents, brokers, NAR itself, local and state associations and MLSs. NAR commissioned the 164-page report from acclaimed real estate consultant Stefan Swanepoel, who conducted extensive research, including interviews with 70 notables inside and outside the industry and a survey that garnered nearly 8,000 responses. You’ll find The DANGER Report here: Beware of Real Estate ‘Dangers’

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business Builders lost some confidence in current sales of single-family homes, signaling wariness over whether families are ready to take the plunge into the new-home-buying pool, a report released Monday showed. An overall gauge of confidence among home builders declined two points to 54 in May, missing Wall Street’s forecast, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo. Meanwhile, a barometer of builders’ views on present sales of single-family homes fell two points to 59 in May. “Consumers are exhibiting caution, and want to be on more stable financial footing before purchasing a home,” said David Crowe, NAHB’s chief economist. But there’s still hope for home sales, Crowe added: “Mortgage rates remain low, and house prices are affordable. These factors should spur the release of pent-up demand moving forward.” On Tuesday the government will report its latest reading on new home construction, and economists polled by MarketWatch expect that the annual starts rate rose to 1.03 million in April, which would be the strongest result in three months, from 926,000 in March. U.S. Homebuilder Sentiment Slips in May

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business The residential real estate market is holding its own as we enter the second half of May. Sales activity remains positive and REALTORS® are busier than ever. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released April numbers, and they are still positive. The nation added 223,000 jobs and the national unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%. The need for more inventory is an ongoing issue, but not one that hurts optimism in the marketplace. In the Houston region, for the week ending May 10: New Listings increased 7.7% to 2,840 Pending Sales increased 20.0% to 2,276 Closed Sales decreased 5.0% to 1,334 Houston Market Movements

The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business HAR.com Overview (Webinar) Sign up to learn about the great features of the all-new HAR.com. Students will learn how consumers can search for properties from all over Texas and by specific regions. We will show you how consumers can refine the process through the use of enhanced search options. Map Search allows consumers to find homes by drawing a specific geographic area, while our Drive Time feature generates results based on commute time. We will also show you new benefits in your HAR account, including community reviews, ratings, leads, and lead sources from tools like Agent Spot and others. Not only has HAR expanded to include statewide residential property listing information. The site now includes apartment information. We will demonstrate how all this can generate leads and other benefits for you. Date: Ongoing throughout May & June 2015 Location: Online Investment: Free Register at Please call ext. 6www.har.com/edu How the New HAR.com Benefits YOU