This information is reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of REALTORS, copyright 2005, All rights reserved.  http://www.REALTOR.org/realtormag

1.  A real estate transaction is complicated.  In most cases, buying or selling a home requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds, and multi-page government-mandated settlement statements.  A knowledgeable guide through this complexity can help you avoid delays or costly mistakes.

2.  Selling or buying a home is time consuming.  Even in a strong market, homes in our area stay on the market for an average of 180 days.  And it usually takes another 60 days or so for the transaction to close after an offer is accepted. 

3.  Real estate has its own language.  If you don’t know a CMA from a PUD, you can understand why it’s important to work with someone who speaks that language.

4.  REALTORS have done it before.  Most people buy and sell only a few homes in a lifetime, usually with quite a few years in between each purchase.  And even if you’ve done it before, laws and regulations change.  That’s why having an expert on your side is critical.

5.  REALTORS provide objectivity.  Since a home often symbolizes family, rest, and security, not just four walls and roof, home selling or buying is often a very emotional undertaking.  And for most people, a home is the biggest purchase they’ll ever make.  Having a concerned, byt objective, third party helps you keep focused on both the business and emotional issues most important to you.

6.  REALTORS are members of the National Association of REALTORS, a trade organization of more than 1 million members nationwide.  REALTORS subscribe to a stringent code of ethics that helps guarantee the highest level of service and integrity.

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 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Associated Press) – The National Association of Realtors announced Monday that its seasonally adjusted index of home sales agreements rose 8.2 percent from January to February.

January’s reading was revised slightly downward to 90.2, and the February reading was 97.6.

The index is considered a barometer for future sales activity because there is typically a one- to two-month lag between a signed sales contract and a completed deal.

Sales increased 9 percent in the South and Northeast from January to February, fell nearly 5 percent in the West and rose nearly 22 percent in the Midwest.

A new grant issued by the National Association of Realtors has been given to the Texas Association of Realtors to aid consumers and realtors alike in preventing foreclosures.  This grant will develop a training program for Texas Realtors in the practice of identifying foreclosures and short-sales opportunities.  With the assistance of housing giants: TDHCA (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs), HUD (Housing and Urban Development), Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, and NeighborWorks, this resource will be a vital lifeline for distressed Texan homeowners and the Texan housing market.  An educational web site is also available for consumers, www.KeepMyTexasHome.com, which will include a homeowner’s checklist that you can use as a reference guide to stopping foreclosure.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (National Association of Realtors) – The National Association of Realtors is launching a new website with information for homeowners and more tools for Realtors.

The site, called HouseLogic, is intended to help homeowners protect, maintain and enhance the value of their homes, and to provide business-building tools for Realtors. The site will also allow homeowners to speak together with Realtors to federal legislators on public policy issues where homeowners and the real estate industry have a common interest.

HouseLogic will be promoted to consumers in earnest starting in February. Until then, the site is in beta and is being promoted primarily to Realtors, giving them a chance to explore the site and provide feedback.

TEXAS (Real Estate Center, CNNMoney.com) – A total of 22,511 existing homes were sold in Texas last month, a 4.8 percent decline from July 2008, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The median price increased 0.6 percent to $153,800 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 7.4-month inventory of existing homes.

Here is how select Texas cities fared in July (data current as of Aug. 28, 2009):

Additional home sales data for these and other major Texas cities are available on the Center’s website.

Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes last month were up 5 percent from July 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors.