Mortgage activity is soaring with total mortgage origination balances reaching $466 billion in the first quarter, according to Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report. This is nearly 75-percent above the same time last year. Learn more here.

Pending home sales continued to rise in May and are now at their highest level in more than nine years, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). The index in the Northeast increased 6.3 percent to 93.9 in May, and is now 10.6-percent above a year ago. Learn more here.

Get involved and help guide the future of your state association by signing up for 2016 committee service. You may select up to three open committees and three closed committees from the more than 25 NYSAR committees available. We only ask you to be sure that you’ll be able to attend the 2016 business meetings February 7-11 at the Desmond in Albany and September 25-28 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona before committing to serve. Committee sign up will be available online only between July 1 and July 31. Sign up here.

On Thursday, June 25, the state Legislature completed its 2015 regular session. This legislative session will go down in history as one of the most tumultuous with the leaders of both the state Senate and Assembly stepping down amid federal charges. Eventually, new leadership was elected in each house. Senator John Flanagan from Long Island was elected majority leader of the Senate and Assemblyman Carl Heastie was elected speaker of the Assembly. Although the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced multiple challenges, state government got back to work and approved a budget after a minor delay, leaving Albany after addressing the most critical issues they faced. Click here to view NYSAR’s 2015 legislative summary.

The Hogan Lovells Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Group has partnered with the National Association of REALTORS to host a webinar on the regulatory and business hurdles to operating unmanned aircraft systems (drones). To learn how to get approval to fly drones, register here for the webinar, which is being held Thursday, July 9, at 2 p.m.

The National Association of REALTORS' REALTOR Magazine is hosting a live webcast on what REALTOR members need to know about the closing process changes coming later this year, and how to help keep transactions on track as the new process and forms take effect. The webcast will be Thursday, July 16, at 2 p.m., and will feature attorney Phil Schulman of K&L Gates, an expert on federal closing rules, and NAR Senior Counsel Finley Maxson. Click here to view the live webcast.

Stay up-to-date on NYSAR Government Affairs news and events by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Today’s NYSAR Radio show will take a look at brokerage dos, don’ts and best practices. Tune in at 10 a.m. this morning 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.

The second quarter 2015 edition of NYSAR’s Legal Lines is now available online at NYSAR.com. This edition covers the new carbon monoxide detector requirement in all new commercial buildings, the use of corporate titles by real estate teams, and the use of third-party short-term rental services. Several key federal cases including a trademark dispute win for the National Association of REALTORS, the classification of independent contractors, and the strengthening of consumer protections against unwanted calls and texts are also covered. Read the latest issue.

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 partnership with UPS gives you access to exclusive shipping discounts – up to 30 percent! Enroll today to start saving on every package you send. Visit www.savewithups.com/nysar or call 800-325-7000 to enroll.

Local boards across the state remain busy hosting local RPAC events this spring and early summer. Already, local boards have raised nearly $70,000 for RPAC through local events alone. From Greater Rochester’s March Madness to Greater Syracuse’s Cooking for RPAC, Columbia Greene’s wine tasting and BBQ, LIBOR’s Day at the Races, Greater Capital’s Bowling and Cruising for RPAC and Hudson Gateway’s Mr. Legs Pageant, New York Yankees game and casual mixers, REALTORS have come out to support RPAC in their communities. View the calendar of RPAC events to be held over the next several weeks.