Lofty home-price growth and tight supply are leading to softening confidence among renters about whether it’s a good time to buy a home, according to the latest installment of the National Association of REALTORS Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey. The survey also found that a misconception about how much of a downpayment is needed to buy could be unnecessarily delaying some qualified young adults from entering the market. Learn more here. This study comes as NYSAR is advocating for adoption of the NY First Home Savings account, which would allow eligible first-time homebuyers to save, tax-free, for the purchase of a home. Click here to visit the NY First Home website.

The NYSAR Fall Business meetings will open Sunday, Sept. 25 and will run through Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY. The meetings will feature: a full set of committee meetings; opening day keynote speaker, Jeff Slutsky, founder of Street Fighter Marketing; General Session keynote speaker Mark Sanborn, president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., the RPAC Trivia Night fundraiser; YPN Fishbowl Experiment; and more. NYSAR encourages all members to participate as many of the sessions do not require official committee service. Watch a video about what you can expect from the Fall Business Meetings here. 

For more information or to register for the meetings, click here.

Mandatory Code of Ethics training (formerly known as the Quadrennial Code of Ethics training) must be completed by Dec. 31 of this year. Failure to complete the training by Dec. 31 will result in your local board/association suspending your membership on Jan. 1, 2017 until the requirement is met. Any member who has not met the requirement by March 1, 2017 will be automatically terminated. Learn more here.

Text the phrase "NYREALTOR" to 30644 to be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card and sign up for REALTOR Party Mobile Alerts. Sign up before Oct. 31 and you will also be entered to win a $250 Amazon gift card from the National Association of REALTORS. Members will only receive important messages on REALTOR Calls for Action a few times a year to help protect our industry.

On Sept. 14, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he directed Robert Mujica, director of the New York State Division of the Budget, to execute a memorandum of understanding to release $2 billion in funding to advance the creation of more than 100,000 units of affordable and supportive housing over the next five years. The $2 billion was set aside in the 2016-17 Enacted Budget. The memorandum now heads to the Senate and Assembly for approval. The press release can be found here.

On Sept. 13, three NYSAR-supported candidates for the New York State Legislature won their primary elections, and will move on to the General Election on Nov. 8. Those candidates were Phil Ramos, Marisol Alcantara and Jim Tedisco. Click here to view how NYSAR provided support for those candidates.

Today’s NYSAR Radio show will cover common commission issues. 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 here.

New York State Association of REALTORS member Susan Gruen Helsinger from Merrick, NY was named a finalist for the National Association of REALTORS’ Good Neighbor Awards! The public can vote for their favorite of the 10 Good Neighbor finalists. The finalist who gets the most votes - the Web Choice Winner - will take home an additional $1,000 donation.Help Susan get the recognition she deserves for her good works, and help her win a grant to advance her efforts. Voting is open until Sept. 26. Click here to vote today!

RPR Mobile delivers RPR’s vast repository of property information and tools anytime, anyplace, to any iPhone or Android phone. Use your phone’s location to instantly view any property nearby, or search for properties to find listing, sales, valuation, assessment, deed, foreclosure, school, photos, maps, and market trend information. Create, customize, view, save, and send RPR reports with your added photos, audio, and text notes. Download it today at the App Store or Google Play. Join NYSAR for this comprehensive review webinar of all the powerful features of this great REALTOR-only tool! Click here to register today.

The Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) course will be offered Sept. 29-30 at the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS in Goshen, NY. Specialize in the 50-plus real estate market by expanding your knowledge of: current lifestyle and housing trends; how life stages impact real estate choices; and how to develop a network of resources. 

Register online today or call 800-239-4432 x219. Click here for more information.

The GRI-5 Buyers course will be offered Sept. 29 at the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS in Rochester, NY. Demonstrate your value to buyers from listing to closing and learn strategies to: secure more buyer clients; guide buyers through the process from pre-qualifying to closing; assure Fair Housing compliance; and keep you, your clients and customers safe. 

Register online today or call 800-239-4432 x219. Click here for more information.

The 64^th Annual Fall Appraisal Conference, sponsored by NYSAR’s Appraisal Committee, will be held on Oct. 27-28, 2016 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY. Taught by Rebecca Jones, the committee will offer the 2016-2017 National USPAP Update for New York State appraiser and real estate continuing education credits on the first day of the conference. On the second day of the conference, Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, Inc., will teach "Toxic Pollution Concerns and Real Property Appraisals," followed by Joe Whittington of Northeastern Appraisal with "The Facts about Wet Basements". Both submitted for New York State appraiser and real estate continuing education credits. Please follow this link for more information on the conference, and click here to go directly to the registration page.

NYSAR’s newest Member Perks partner, UBS Financial Services, helps you reduce your taxable income and save for retirement with Independent 401(k) plans. Designed with the flexibility to decide whether to contribute and how much on an annual basis, you have the ability to borrow against your own retirement savings both tax-free and penalty-fee. Through NYSAR’s partnership, you’ll pay a minimal annual fee of only $25 for your account. Visit the Retirement page of NYSAR.com or contact Christopher Michelsen, financial advisor at UBS Financial Services, at 212-626-8515 for more details and to enroll now. Click here to view a recent webinar on tax and retirement planning for REALTORS.

Your NYSAR membership gives you an extra 10-percent discount at NAR's REALTOR.org store. Shop the store and take advantage of exclusive savings on NAR's entire line of products and publications including books, brochures, DVDs, research reports and more. To redeem your 10-percent discount, visit www.realtor.org/store and simply enter member code "NYSAR2" at checkout.

The September RPAC auction item is a Coach OTL Signature J Small Kelsey bag in black. Visit the RPAC Facebook group to place a bid or contact Derick King at dking@nysar.com or 518-463-0300 x238. Bidding will be open until the close of business this Thursday, September 22.

If local boards or individual members would like to donate auction items, please contact Derick King at dking@nysar.com or 518-463-0300 x238 with a description of the item and the value as soon as possible. Local boards and individual members will receive RPAC credit for auction item donations!

Congratulations to the Otsego Delaware Board of REALTORS on raising $3,500 for RPAC during the third annual Finger Lakes Wine Tour! Thank you to those who attended and sipped some wine to support RPAC.

Congratulations to the Long Island Board of REALTORS on raising more $4,600 for RPAC during the second annual ART-PAC, Art Auction event. Thank you LIBOR for all your support of RPAC.