The announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to delay the effective date of the new Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure (TRID) regulation is welcome news for REALTORS in New York and around the country. Implementation of the new TRID regulation has been delayed until October 1, 2015. Learn more here.

The New York statewide median home selling price reached $226,500 in May, an increase of 6.2 percent compared to last May, according to the housing market report released by the New York State Association of REALTORS. May closed sales declined by 2.6 percent compared to May 2014. Learn more here.

Homebuyer foot traffic can be a strong indicator of the demand for housing, and foot traffic has been strong this spring, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS, which measures foot traffic by the number of times SentriLock lock boxes are opened. Learn more here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state leaders in the Assembly and Senate continue to negotiate key issues such as: extending the state’s property tax cap; an education tax credit; rent control regulations; renewal of the 421a tax abatement program for developers; mayoral control of New York City schools; and most recently, the extension of local county sales taxes. Learn more here.

Tens of thousands of REALTORS now receive REALTOR Party mobile alerts directly to their phone, giving them exclusive opportunities to take action on important real estate issues. Don’t miss out – join the network quickly and easily by texting "NY REALTORS" to 30644.

The National Association of REALTORS will send you short text messages when they need you to respond to a Call for Action (usually only three to five times per year). Message and data rates may apply, and you can unsubscribe at any time. For questions about the REALTOR Party mobile alerts, contact comments@realtoractioncenter.com.

The Tuesday, July 7, NYSAR Radio show will take a look at brokerage dos, don’ts and best practices. Tune in at 10 a.m. on July 7 on your PC or Mac by using the player on the NYSAR Radio page. You will need to be logged in to listen. If you have not yet created your account with the website, you will need to click on "New User" on the Member Login page and follow the prompts.

Find more information as well as a list of links to play NYSAR Radio from any of your mobile devices here.

In honor of June being NYSAR Housing Opportunities Month and in an effort to raise awareness for housing opportunities in New York State, the NYSAR Housing Opportunities Foundation has made a goal of raising $5,000, which goes directly to its First-time Homebuyer Grant Program. Donor recognition will be prominently displayed on NYSARHousingFoundation.com, in an upcoming issue of New York State REALTOR magazine, on the foundation's Facebook page and at the NYSAR Fall Business Meetings. Learn more about the foundation's efforts, and donate here.

The Short Sales and Foreclosures (SFR) course will be offered on June 26 at the Greater Binghamton Association of REALTORS in Johnson City, NY. Maneuver the complexities of short sales and help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities. This course is the SFR requirement and also provides elective credit for the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation.

Register online today or call NYSAR at 800-239-4432 x219. Find more information here.

REALTORS Property Resource (RPR) is more than a comprehensive database - it provides tools and resources to help expand your business. Join NYSAR and RPR on July 16 at 2:30 p.m. to learn how to use RPR to improve prospecting and farming strategies, run accurate comp analyses, identify distressed properties and their impact on neighborhoods, and set industry standard values on home investments. You’ll also get a quick overview of RPR Mobile. Start impressing clients - register for this webinar today.

The open enrollment period for NYSAR’s dental plan has begun, and there’s never been a better time to re-evaluate your dental and vision coverage. Administered by USI Affinity and now underwritten by MetLife, the NYSAR dental plan offers: options for a range in coverage and cost; third straight year of no rate increases; coverage for individuals and families; freedom to visit any dentist, in or out-of-network; and coverage for orthodontia.

Through this new partnership with MetLife, vision coverage is now being offered as a standalone option in addition to being an optional rider on the dental policy. Visit www.MyREALTORInsurance.com/nysar or call USI Affinity’s dedicated sales representative Ned Cox at 888.834.3713 for more information.

NYSAR’s newest Member Perks partner, IdentityForce, isa leader in identity protection. Recognizing that identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States and can happen at anytime, anywhere and to anyone, NYSAR has negotiated a special discounted rate to provide you with a proven solution to safeguard your personal information. Don’t wait to fall victim to identity theft, let IdentityForce start protecting you today!Visit www.identityforce.com/nysar for more information and to enroll.

The Columbia Greene Board of REALTORS hosted their third annual RPAC BBQ and perks fundraising event last week at the board office. The event featured a BBQ lunch, professional photographer, a cooking contest and more. Thank you to the 50 attendees who invested $2,300 in RPAC to make this another successful event. Congratulations to cook-off winners Barbara Robinson, for her amazing key lime pie, and Nancy Horowitz-Felcetto, for her delicious tapenade.

The Oswego County and Jefferson Lewis boards of REALTORS graciously hosted NYSAR President Mike Smith and NYSAR’s Political Affairs Coordinator Derick King at their annual joint-board dinner last week in Mexico, NY. Thank you to Oswego Board of REALTORS President Connie Ryan for inviting the NYSAR representatives to address the attendees during the gathering. Congratulations to the boards for raising $600 for RPAC through RPAC flask sales as well!