Halfway Through The Year
By Jay Christiana, 2019 GCAR President
It’s hard to believe it, but we are already halfway through the year. I hope you all have been as busy I have been. In March we saw a nearly 7 percent increase in pending sales over the previous year so many of you I’m sure are busy preparing to close on those transactions now. In between all of those closings, please take some time to check in with GCAR to keep up with what is going on in our industry in the Capital Region and beyond.
May is Realtor Advocacy Month, so it is important that we all work to emphasize the importance of advocacy at the national, state, and local levels. In mid-May, GCAR leadership will travel to Washington, DC for the National Association of Realtors’ mid-year legislative meetings. We will have the opportunity to meet with New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Congressman Paul Tonko. We will also be participating in NYSAR’s annual Lobby Day this month which takes place right here in Albany. You can expect to see a recap of these meetings in the July/August issue.
June is National Homeownership Month, which is a time to celebrate and advocate the American dream of owning a home. Homeownership is still the best way for the majority of Americans to build wealth, support the national and local economies, and create stable communities. Visit homeownershipmatters.realtor to find content to share with your clients.
Lastly, I would like to commend the MLS staff for all of their hard work on the ENYR MLS and SAR MLS merger into the new Global MLS. They have been working for over a year to make this merger possible. By joining forces the two shareholder associations have affected a comprehensive expansion to the amount of the MLS data, efficiencies of operations, and access to the best selection of professional-level industry technology.
For the most up to date GCAR news, make sure you read the weekly member message email, follow GCAR on Facebook, or simply ask Alexa to “open Capital Realtors”.