TREC 3-Day Rule Update
At the TREC Commission meeting on November 13th, the Texas Association of Realtors, along with concerned real estate professionals around the state, sent in letters to express concerns about the proposed three-day requirement for delivery of earnest money (Paragraph 5). In the revised standard TREC contracts, the proposed language currently reads, “Within 3 days after […]
Read More >>Has the Texas Real Estate Market Slowed?
by Mark Sprague I am frequently asked if the Texas real estate market has slowed. In this piece I’ll explain the state of the market and try to answer this question. First, some context. Austin real estate has been traveling at light speed with over 60% appreciation on residential real estate in the last ten […]
Read More >>Rising Interest Rates Bring Challenges and Opportunities
The Federal Reserve announced on November 1st that interest rates will remain unchanged, for now. However, analysts are all but certain that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in December, and four more times in 2018. Economic growth remained at a robust 3% in the third quarter, even with the losses from Hurricanes Harvey and […]
Read More >>You’re Killing Me, Sales!
By Cassandra Majors Whether or not you were the right age to see the cult classic coming-of-age movie The Sandlot, you’ve probably had this iconic line thrown at you whenever an 80s or 90s kid is annoyed with you: “You’re killing me, Smalls!” The most important plot-driver in the film is a lack of baseballs. […]
Read More >>The Economic Impact of Hurricane Harvey
By Mark Sprague and Cassandra Majors Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston and the Texas coast, and we’re only beginning to imagine the full economic impact for the region in the years of recovery ahead. 2017’s hurricane season is only the 17th deadliest since the death tolls were first tracked in the year 1900, but it’s already […]
Read More >>[San Antonio] New Fall Education Menus!
As summer ends, we start getting excited about kids going back to school, leaves falling, pumpkin spice lattes, and most importantly, the new Independence Title Education Menu. Below are the new, exciting classes we now offer. If you’d like to order a printed copy of the menu or to schedule a class, please contact your […]
Read More >>[DFW] New Fall Education Menus!
As summer ends, we start getting excited about kids going back to school, leaves falling, pumpkin spice lattes, and most importantly, the new Independence Title Education Menu. Below are the new, exciting classes we now offer. If you’d like to order a printed copy of the menu or to schedule a class, please contact your […]
Read More >>[AUSTIN] New Fall Education Menus!
As summer ends, we start getting excited about kids going back to school, leaves falling, pumpkin spice lattes, and most importantly, the new Independence Title Education Menu. Below are the new, exciting classes we now offer. If you’d like to order a printed copy of the menu or to schedule a class, please contact your […]
Read More >>Mommy, Where Do Buyers Come From?
By Cassandra Majors, Independence Title Well, honey, you see…when two people love each other very, very much, sometimes the Home-Buying Stork brings them their very own bundle of joy…along with a huge chunk out of their savings, a Russian novel’s worth of legal disclosures, and 30 years of debt. But how does the stork find […]
Read More >>Why the Question “When Will Austin’s Bubble Burst?” Just Won’t Seem to Die
by Cassandra Majors, Independence Title Ever since the meteoric rise of Austin’s real estate market in the last two decades, I’ve heard the same question asked in many different ways, from many different people. It usually takes one of three forms: 1. Is Austin in a real estate bubble? 2. When will Austin’s real estate […]
Read More >>Let’s Zip Through the Changes to zipForm Plus
Have you noticed the “Try New Plus” button when you log into zipforms Plus? They’ve made some changes and improvements to the platform. What’s New in zipForm Plus? Agent Dashboard: zipForm Plus has a new platform design! Not only does your homepage look different, but it feels different too. The dashboard is both interactive and responsive: it […]
Read More >>Proposed TREC Changes to Contract Require Earnest Money to Be Delivered in 3 Days
With a list of proposed TREC contract changes up for discussion, have you ever wondered how TREC decides when to change the promulgated forms? Typically, the forms are revised every other year following the Texas Legislative Session. TREC’s Broker Lawyer Committee meets first, and their proposed changes are discussed at the August TREC Commission meeting. […]
Read More >>New Statistics Tools for Austin!
Does the word “statistics” intimidate you? Not only is it a hard word to say, but statistics themselves can often be confusing. As you know, in the world of real estate it’s important to differentiate yourself from the competition, and market statistics could very well be the factor that separates you from the rest. That’s […]
Read More >>The State of the Austin Luxury Market
by Cassandra Majors, Independence Title The Austin real estate market has exploded in recent years, and the luxury market has been no exception. In times of economic trouble, home sales plummet and our industry takes a major hit. However, the luxury home market is usually the last sector of housing to feel the effects of […]
Read More >>The Importance of Online Reviews
What makes online reviews a powerful tool for lead generating? They help consumers evaluate an agent’s honesty, reputation, and knowledge. When choosing a real estate agent, consumers consider these four things: The reputation of the agent If the agent is honest and trustworthy If the agent is a friend of family member The agent’s knowledge […]
Read More >>Utilizing a CRM for Your Business
The top two sources of business for Realtors are referrals and past clients. With that being said, our question to you: How are you keeping up with your past clients?? Many real estate agents still use Excel spreadsheets or a simple contact manager (like the one in Outlook or Gmail) to manage their database of […]
Read More >>What Is CodeNEXT?
Have you heard of CodeNEXT yet? If not, this is a topic that could have an impact on the real estate market and you will want to gain knowledge on the topic. CodeNEXT is the new City of Austin plan to update the current Land Development Code. The land code consists of how a piece […]
Read More >>[DFW] Spring into Education! New Classes Available.
The Independence Title Education Team has been working hard on developing new and improved classes for you! See a list below of all the brand new classes we are offering this Spring. Please also check out our menus for all classes offered by the Education Team. To schedule one of these great classes in your […]
Read More >>[SAN ANTONIO] Spring into Education! New Classes Available.
The Independence Title Education Team has been working hard on developing new and improved classes for you! See a list below of all the brand new classes we are offering this Spring. Please also check out our menus for all classes offered by the Education Team. To schedule one of these great classes in your […]
Read More >>[AUSTIN] Spring into Education! New Classes Available.
The Independence Title Education Team has been working hard on developing new and improved classes for you! See a list below of all the brand new classes we are offering this Spring. Please also check out our menus for all classes offered by the Education Team. To schedule one of these great classes in your […]
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