1. On May 30, the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate formally approved SB 747, which increases the educational and experience requirements for real estate salespersons and brokers. The bill will become law upon Gov. Perry’s signature, or when the veto period ends on June 19. Key changes include: The bill modifies the term “broker.” Now, a real estate broker is defined to include the “controlling of the acceptance or deposit of rent from a resident of a single-family residential real property unit.” The bill also adds “the providing of a written analysis, opinion, or conclusion relating to the estimated price of real property.” An applicant for a real estate salesperson license must now show satisfactory completion of 12 hours of post-secondary education, including instruction in agency law, contract law, contract forms and addendums, and real estate finance. The bill changes the amount of active experience in Texas or another state an applicant for a broker license must provide to the TREC as satisfactory evidence of experience. The applicant must have at least 4 years of active experience during the 60 months preceding the date the application is filed. The active experience requirements apply only to an application for a broker license submitted to the TREC on or after January 1, 2012. Texas Legislature Approves Changes to Real Estate Licensing Requirements

2. Weekly HAR Market Stat While buyers stepped up their purchase activity compared to year-ago levels, sellers didn’t meet the charge. The post-credit cool down can make for dramatic shifts in numbers, so it’s important to put the past month or so in the context of the last several years. In the Houston region, for the week ending May 29: New listings decreased 8.5% to 2,024 Pending sales increased 46.8% to 1,420 Closed sales decreased 33.4% to 1,393

3. Register Online at www.har.com/eduwww.har.com/edu Questions? 713-629-1900 ext. 6 Graduate to Higher Learning Graduate REALTOR ® Institute GRI-1 Finance Date: June 9, 10, 13, 14 Time: 8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m. Location: HAR Central Investment: $295