After bouncing back in July, pending home sales cooled in August for the third time in four months and to their lowest level since January, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). In the Northeast, the index rose 1.3 percent to 98.1 in August and is now 5.9 percent above a year ago.To read the entire NAR press release, click here.

According to a recent report, some new homeowners haven’t received their STAR Program rebate checks yet. Local officials have complained that checks have been slow to arrive or are landing in mailboxes with inaccurate reimbursements.The full report can be found here.Click here for an informational flyer NYSAR produced for REALTORS informing new homeowners of recent changes to the state’s STAR Program.

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.

On Sept. 26, the Cuomo Administration met with representatives from the real estate industry in New York City to attempt to reach an agreement towards reinstating the 421-a tax break. The 421-a tax break, which was created in the 1970s to spur development, expired in June of 2015 when the law governing it sunset. During the 2015 legislative session, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tasked developers and the Building and Construction Trades Council with reaching an agreement by the end of the year. The parties got close to a deal, but it did not materialize and 421-a officially expired in January. Read the full story here.

On Oct. 3, an overhaul of New York’s State Building and Fire Safety regulations went into effect. The code changes are expected to raise costs for building homes and home improvements, according to Todd Blackely, a building consultant who instructs builders, contractors, and code enforcement officers. The new codes will require that every new home with a basement is required to have an "egress" window or door, with a drain that hooks into the sump pump. The article outlining more changes in the code can be found here.

Don’t miss NYSAR’s Legal Leftovers webinar presented by NYSAR Director of Legal Services Anthony Gatto, Esq. this Thursday, Oct. 6, at 2:30 p.m. This webinar is a follow-up to the Legal Update that was presented yesterday during the Fall Business Meetings. Topics will include such matters as commissions, agency and other recent legal developments. Register today!

The Tuesday, Oct. 18, NYSAR Radio show will cover agency issues, specifically related to dual and designated agents. Tune in at 10 a.m. on Oct. 18 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.

Join NYSAR and RPR for the "10 Ways to Earn More Business than your Competition" webinar on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. During this session, you’ll learn how to use RPR to improve prospecting and farming strategies, run accurate comp analyses, identify distressed properties and their impact on neighborhoods, set industry standard values on home investments, and more! You’ll also get a quick overview of RPR Mobile. Start impressing clients - register for this webinar today.

The GRI-7 Property course will be offered Oct. 11 at the Long Island REALTOR Service Center in Jackson Heights, NY. Discover the myriad elements that affect property value including: types of housing; appraisals and inspections; neighborhoods and amenities; energy efficiency and environmental issues; lender requirements; and much more. 

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

The GRI-6 Sellers course will be offered Oct. 12 at the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS in Rochester, NY. Represent seller clients in a way that keeps them coming back. Get a competitive advantage with strategies to: gain more listings; get clients to price to sell; enhance your marketing; avoid Fair Housing violations and safety concerns. 

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

The GRI-1 Ethics course will be offered Oct. 12 at SUNY Canton in Canton, NY. Capitalize on what sets REALTORS apart from real estate licensees by learning how to put the Code of Ethics to work for you. Satisfies NAR's mandatory quadrennial ethics training requirement.

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. The committee will offer the 2016-2017 National USPAP Update, taught by Rebecca Jones, 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 courses have been 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 exclusive partner for errors and omissions insurance, Pearl Insurance, offers you comprehensive and affordable coverage customized to fit your needs. Their program, underwritten by XL Insurance, includes innovative features such as: deductible reduction; open house coverage; environmental failure to advise; innocent partner protection; and public relations advisory services. For more details or a customized quote, call (800) 289-8170 or visit www.pearlinsurance.com/nysar.

Thanks to the nearly 200 attendees, RPAC of New York's Trivia Night raised a record $38,500 during the NYSAR Fall Business Meetings last week at Turning Stone! Thank you to our RPAC Chair Margaret Hartman and legendary auctioneer Matthew Arnold, and to all those who generously donated and bought auction items. It was a terrific night in support of RPAC. Congratulations to the winning team, the Capital Region’s "Staff Infection," aka NYSAR staff.

Features include: easy-to-use remote control, special Halloween sounds, powerful headlight and puffing smoke. 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 on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

Local board RPAC events have already raised more than $130,000 for RPAC so far this year. Thank you to those boards that have already stepped up and hosted an RPAC event. Boards continue to host events into the fall. For a complete list of the RPAC events still on the calendar, click here.