Michigan Association of REALTORS®

IMPORTANT: Broker must register at www.michigan.gov/iCOLA.

The Bureau of Commercial Services will soon launch onsite licensing for new real estate salespersons, as well as several new services for real estate professionals. These new services will make it possible for applicants who meet all of the application requirements before taking the exam could, upon successful completion of the exam, leave the exam site with a license in hand, ready to work!!

Because DLEG must authenticate that the proper user is given access to the new web services, broker companies will have a three to five day wait period from the first time they visit the www.michigan.gov/iCOLA. DLEG must physically mail a user account ID and temporary password to each broker – there is no account number or temporary login provided online.

In order to ensure our brokers are activated in the new system and able to electronically approve a license application, DLEG has asked MAR and our local associations to provide this registration information to your brokers as soon as possible. In addition, take a moment to have your staff review the new screens – this is a very straightforward process!! Over the next few weeks, as you hold meetings and events in your offices, please direct your members to computers in your office to follow the quick registration steps.

The National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors, at its meeting on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, took actions to keep its members positioned for success into the future.

Among the most notable decisions, the board gave NAR the go-ahead to launch a REALTOR®-friendly credit union. The credit union, which will be Internet-based with U.S. call center operations, will use underwriting standards that recognize the irregular commission-based income of real estate professionals. It will handle loan applications and account transactions on a 24/7 basis.

All earnings will flow back to credit union members in the form of beneficial interest rates and dividends.

To get the process started, the board asked NAR staff to file a credit union charter application with the National Credit Union Administration and provided $10 million in start-up capital. It also authorized $5 million to be available on an as-needed basis to meet regulatory capital contingencies.

What does this holiday season hold for retailers? According to Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. (ICSC) current economic conditions are indicating that the 2007 holiday season will feature many sales promotions that will result in a 2.5 percent sales increase for the nation’s retailers in a year-over-year comparison for the combined November and December time period.

According to Mr. Niemira, there are five key factors shaping the 2007 holiday season:

1. Overall current consumer fundamentals are mixed. Personal income has strengthened and consumer confidence is more neutral than negative. However, the continuing weakness in the housing and mortgage markets has reduced the consumer’s willingness and ability to spend.

2. Throughout the year high energy prices (home heating, oil, gasoline prices, etc.) have been and will continue to be a drag on discretionary purchasing power.

3. Gift cards are expected to extend the holiday shopping season as sales expectations are between $15 to $20 billion this year with 30 to 40 percent of all redemptions occurring the week after Christmas and into January.

4. Based on overall sales performance thus far, retailers are likely to be very promotional in order to drive sales and consumer traffic this year.

5. An early Hanukkah is likely to lift sales earlier in the season while Christmas falling on a Tuesday this year may give an even larger lift to sales in the weekend before Christmas.

In addition to the Comparable Chain Store Sales increase of 2.5 percent, ICSC also expects GAFO Store Sales—general merchandise, apparel, furniture and electronics and other stores, including hobby, book and sporting goods will increase by 4.3 percent for November and December combined.

College Interns

By: Nancy Michaels

So, you could really use some extra help around the office, but your budget has other ideas. Well, there’s a way to beef up your staff without breaking the bank. Go back to school. No, not to further your education, but somebody else’s.

Colleges and universities regularly offer their students internships with local businesses and organizations. Students earn academic credit by spending a period of time working in their field of study. They gain practical experience, apply classroom theory to real-life situations and build their resume. The company offers the internship, in turn, gets low- or no-cost help.

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NAR Installs 2008 Officers

Richard F. “Dick” Gaylord, a REALTOR® from Long Beach, Calif., was installed as 2008 president of the National Association of REALTORS® at the association’s Board of Directors meeting during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo. A record number of more than 30,000 REALTORS® and guests from the United States and abroad attended the annual meeting this year.

In 2007, Gaylord was NAR president-elect, and he was NAR first vice president in 2006. He also served as NAR Region XIII vice president in 2003, which comprises California, Guam and Hawaii. A REALTOR® for 30 years, he is a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, a residential and commercial brokerage.

Gaylord was president of the California Association of REALTORS® in 2000, the same year he was named California “REALTOR® of the Year.” He was president of the Pacific West Association of REALTORS® in 1992 and in 1987 when the organization was the Greater Long Beach Association of REALTORS®, and was GLBAR’s “REALTOR® of the Year” in 1986.

Charles McMillan, a REALTOR® from Irving, Texas, is 2008 president-elect. A REALTOR® for more than 20 years, McMillan is director of realty relations and principal broker for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Dallas-Fort Worth. He has twice served as NAR Region X vice president; Region X comprises Texas and Louisiana. He served as president of the Texas Association of REALTORS® in 1998 and was named TAR’s “REALTOR® of the Year” in 2000. He was president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® in 1991 and was “REALTOR® of the Year” of the local association in 1992.

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