December/Full-Year 2013 MLS Sales Statistics The December/full-year 2013 MLS statistics will be released on Tuesday morning, and here are some quick takeaways: December was the 31 st consecutive month of positive sales, with single-family sales volume rising 14.3 percent versus one year earlier. Contracts closed on 5,813 homes, driving inventory down to a 2.6- month supply, the lowest level of all time. Prices rose to the highest levels for a December, with the single-family home median price reaching $188,500 while the average price was $240,326. Total dollar volume for full-year 2013 reached a record high, jumping 30.2 percent to nearly $21 billion compared to $16 billion in full-year For more detailed information, please visit the HAR Online Newsroom for this and all other news releases.HAR Online Newsroom

2014 Houston Market Outlook Stewart Title Chief Economist and former HAR Chairman Ted C. Jones, Ph.D. delivered his 2014 Houston real estate market forecast last week to HAR’s NextGen REALTOR ® Group. Here are some takeaways: Forecasts 68,500 net new jobs in the Houston MSA in 2014 compared to 79,000 year-over-year today. That represents a 13 percent decline, but is still reflective of strong job growth. Expects the total number of housing sales to decline by 6 percent (but they are near an all-time high on a 12-month moving average in the prior 12 months). Predicts that median home prices, which have risen 9.9 percent in the prior 12 months, should increase by 5 to 7 percent in 2014 – still strong. Dr. Jones believes the reduction in the number of sales and the increasing sales price at a lower level will be a function of affordability (down due to rising rates) and simply fewer net new jobs. In conclusion, Dr. Jones says that 2014 will remain a strong year for Houston, albeit down slightly when compared to 2013.

Urban Land Institute Gives Houston High Marks We all know what’s been happening in the Houston real estate market in recent years, but one organization thinks even greater things are in store for us this year. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has ranked Houston the No. 2 market to watch in its “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2014” report. That is an improvement from the area’s No. 5 ranking in ULI concludes: “Houston’s booming energy economy has fueled an active real estate market over the past few years, and survey respondents expect that to continue in the coming year.” While Houston came in behind San Francisco on the overall list, it took the top spot for investment real estate. Houston is the No. 2 market for home- building prospects and No. 3 for development. In the investment arena, survey respondents overwhelming ranked Houston a “buy” in all five property categories: office, industrial, retail, apartments and hotel. The complete ULI report is available online here:

Questions? ext. 6 Graduate to Higher Learning Register at Graduate REALTOR® Institute – GRI-1 Finance The GRI designation is the most widely recognized of the national real estate designations. Consisting of three courses, each is taught by experts in their respective fields. This module offers Finance Theory & Practice, Investment & Taxation, and Cultural Diversity & Fair Housing. GRI courses may be taken in any order and satisfy your 9 hours of non-legal MCE requirements. TREC rules mandate that each student be on time. A calculator is required. Please make sure to bring your license number to class. TAR provides a one-time, $50 coupon for qualifying students who register through HAR.com. Upon entering a user name and password, HAR will immediately verify with TAR that the coupon is valid and the discount will immediately be applied. All other courses are full-price. Date: January 30 & 31, February 3 & 4 Time: 8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m. Location: HAR Central Investment: $295