E-News

On Monday, February 14, NYSAR joined a coalition of businesses from across the state at the Legislative Correspondents Association press room in the Capitol to voice its support for a two-percent property tax cap.

NYSAR CEO Duncan MacKenzie, along with other business representatives, highlighted the overwhelming burden that rising property taxes place on New York's business community and homeowners. The coalition encouraged the members of the Assembly to work cooperatively to pass the tax cap bill that was advanced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and promptly passed by the Senate.

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NYSAR 2011 President Nick Gigante, President-elect Susan Goldy and Secretary/Treasurer Margaret Hartman took the oath of office during the inaugural dinner held on Monday, January 31, during the association's Mid-Winter Business Meetings at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY.

In addition to the inauguration, a full slate of committee meetings and a meeting of the Board of Directors took place. NYSAR members can visit the meeting minutes page of NYSAR.com and review minutes from more than two dozen committee meetings. To access meeting minutes, click here.

The Association Update presentation included NYSAR President Nick Gigante's State of the Association address. NYSAR General Legal Counsel Michael Wallender, Esq. presented information about key legal issues affecting the industry. Siena Research Institute Director Dr. Don Levy briefed meeting attendees on the New York State Consumer Real Estate Sentiment Scores. Additionally, the 2010 RPAC awards were presented including the Lawrence B. Caldwell award, which was bestowed upon to Michael Schmelzer and Alan Yassky.

Videos of the Association Update, presented by NYSAR President Nick Gigante are now available in the NYSAR Media Center. The Association Update includes the 2010 RPAC awards, the NYSAR Legal Update presented by NYSAR General Legal Counsel Michael Wallender, Esq., and the New York State Consumer Real Estate Sentiment Scores presented by Siena Research Institute Director Dr. Don Levy.

Also Available in the NYSAR Media Center is a recorded podcast of the Agent Success Panel on volunteerism presented by NYSAR faculty member Roseanne Farrow. The session took place during the New York State REALTOR Institute GRI Chapter meeting.

In addition, TechSavy Agent's Co-founder Chris Smith's recorded presentation on February 2 on social, mobile and technology tools for real estate, presented during the Technology Forum.

To access the podcasts and videos, visit the NYSAR Media Center.

In its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for January 2011, which reports default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions in the month of January, RealtyTrac Inc.reported New York State had 2,885 total foreclosures, a decrease of 36.86 percent from January 2010 and an increase of 10.03 percent from December 2010. New York State ranked number 43 of all 50 states for monthly total foreclosure filings

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According to the latest poll by the Siena Research Institute (SRI), New York State consumer home buying plans remained unchanged at 4.5 percent in January. Overall, New York State consumer confidence increased 10.9 points in January, while the nation's confidence decreased 0.3 points. At 76.5, New York's overall consumer confidence is 2.3 points above the nation's confidence level of 74.2.

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