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FAAR Celebrates Members Installed into Women’s Council of REALTORS Fredericksburg Network’s Leadership

Dec 9, 2022

2022 Member of the Year & Strategic Partners of the Year Announced

The Women’s Council of REALTORS® Fredericksburg Network has installed its 2023 Governing Board; Dawn Veronica Curry, President; Renee Howell, President-Elect; Mary Beth Rick, First Vice President; Nicole Marucci of FTGE, Treasurer; Glenda Morales, Membership Director; and Jamila Darwish, Events Director. Page Browning, CEO of FAAR performed the official installation and Deb Ellis, President of FAAR, pinned all the new officers.

“I am honored to serve as the next Women’s Council of REALTORS® President for Fredericksburg,“ said Dawn Veronica Curry. “And I am so grateful to FAAR and especially Page and Deb, both members of Women’s Council, for all their support this year. We had an amazing 2022 and I am super excited to build on the excitement and provide an opportunity for those agents who want to emerge as business leaders in the Greater Fredericksburg area. Our mantra is #LeadersMadeHere and we take that to heart!”

The prestigious Member of the Year award was presented to Glenda Morales of Cropper Home Sales. Glenda absolutely excelled as our 2022 Membership Director and was instrumental in the growth we’ve experienced this year. We are so thrilled she has agreed to serve for another year!

The Strategic Partner of the Year award was presented to Tony Bolding of ALCOVA Mortgage and Ady Fisher of HouseMaster. Tony & Ady have been dedicated supporters of our Network and instrumental in helping us provide added value to our members and have assisted in growing our membership by inviting their clients and other strategic partners year-round to our amazing events.

About Women’s Council of REALTORS® Fredericksburg Network
At Women’s Council, they strive to provide timely, accessible events, great networking, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

You gain access to other local professionals committed to sharing their expertise when you join. You instantly become part of a nationwide network of real estate professionals who operate their businesses on a shared set of values: integrity, professionalism, mutual support, and a commitment to excellence.

Women’s Council members send and receive referrals confidently, knowing their values are shared when providing outstanding service to their clients.

They encourage members to get involved because they know participation translates to personal growth and leadership development. They meet you where you are in your skill development and take you to the next level. #LeadersMadeHere

To learn more about the Women’s Council of REALTORS® Fredericksburg Network and how to join, visit connect.wcr.org. Or if you’re an industry professional and would like to learn more about promoting your services, bit.ly/3uCa9re.

Dawn curry hands member of the year award to glenda morales

Prices show no signs of stopping while demand continues to cool

Nov 14, 2022

Local Realtors® are feeling the change in the market, but prices do not show any signs of cooling as we head into the fall months. Prices remain high and continue to climb despite moderating sales volumes. Many Realtors® report significant price reductions from original list prices, but that has yet to translate into reduced median price points. The Fredericksburg regional market saw an 11% year-over-year increase in median price, coming in at $425,000 this October compared to $384,677 last October. While prices keep rising, units sold posted another large decrease with a more than 30% decline from 736 homes sold last October to 506 homes sold this year. That translated into a 21% decline in total sold dollar volume from nearly $305 million in sales last October compared to just over $240 million in sales this year.

FAAR Board of Director Clay Murray comments, “As our strong local market processes the external factors at play, including the recent elections and rising interest rates, we continue to see home values remain solid. Temporarily in this calmer market, more balance and accommodations within the contract are prevalent between buyers and sellers. This is a welcome shift from the past two years. Buyers now are having to make the choice between a wait-and-see approach for when rates come down or act now to enjoy a more balanced market while they can.”

Days on market, the time it takes from when a listing enters the market until it receives a ratified contract and is removed from active status on the multiple listing service, increased another 44% this October, coming in at 26 days versus just 18 last year. However, even these large percentage increases are adding just one or two days to the average and are still slightly below the historical 5-year average of 30 days.

Active listings continue to increase, jumping nearly 30% over last year with 1,012 homes on the market at the end of October 2022 versus 784 last year. New listings were down again this month, with 638 new homes coming on the market compared to 802 last October. New pendings remain down with 470 new contracts ratified in October compared to 772 last year, representing a nearly 40% year-over-year decline. Even though demand is dropping quickly, the number of available homes remains low, especially in the under $400,000 price bracket, creating competitive situations that could continue to buoy prices despite falling demand.

REALTOR® and Affiliate Members of FAAR Collect Over 18,000 Boxes of Cereal

Nov 4, 2022

Every year REALTOR® and Affiliate members of the Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS® reach out to their spheres on behalf of the annual FAAR cereal drive. Not only does participation in the drive help our community by providing food for those in need, but many members find it an easy way to reconnect with past clients and even acquire business without a sales pitch.

“I listed 2 homes yesterday. The reason they chose me? They’d heard of me, but my involvement in the cereal drive was why chose me. They had a REALTOR® friend too!”

“I was surprised at the response from the post cards. I send out something to my SOI every month. After the post cards went out, I heard from people I hardly ever hear from. I am a true believer and what a great cause! “

It’s been another amazing year for cereal collection! Thanks to the outstanding efforts of REALTOR® and Affiliate members, we are proud to announce the total raised —

18,567 boxes

Prize Winners

Most cereal collected by a REALTOR office — Long and Foster Fredericksburg (4,692 boxes)

Most cereal per agent — Cropper Home Sales (1,850 boxes)

Most cereal collected by an Affiliate office – Movement Mortgage (1,088 boxes)

Most improved — Coldwell Banker Elite Stafford (968 boxes)

Participants

1st Runner Up for cereal collected by a REALTOR Office – 1st Choice Better Homes & Land (4,296 boxes)

Aquia Realty

At Your Service Realty

Berkshire Hathway Home Services Pen Fed Fredericksburg

Berkshire Hathway Home Services Pen Fed King George

Berkshire Hathway Home Services Pen Fed Stafford

Century 21 New Millennium Fredericksburg

Century 21 Redwood Fredericksburg

Century 21 Redwood Locust Grove

Coldwell Banker Elite Downtown

CTI Real Estate

Exit Elite

eXp Realty

Keller Williams Capital Properties

Summit Mortgage

The Title Professionals

Topside Federal Credit Union

Ulta Realty

United Real Estate Premier

3rd quarter stats show continued price increases, volume decreases

Oct 31, 2022

3rd Quarter Housing Market Report

Bright MLS Broker Public Portal and Homesnap Agreement Ending

Oct 27, 2022

Bright subscribers receive access to CoStar’s Homesnap Pro and Pro+ app services through an underlying contract between Homesnap and an entity called the Broker Public Portal (BPP). BPP was originally conceived to create a national consumer home search experience on behalf of the MLS industry. Subsequently, through the BPP, MLSs across the country entered into an agreement collectively to offer Homesnap to their subscribers. The agreement between the BPP and Homesnap will end this month (October 2022).

Because Bright offers our subscribers the Homesnap mobile app’s Pro and Pro+ services through the BPP agreement, that means Bright subscribers were at risk of losing access to Homesnap Pro and Pro+ in the Bright MLS market area.

So what’s next for Bright and Homesnap?

Bright has reached an agreement with Homesnap through the remainder of 2022. This ensures that you will have access to the Homesnap app services in Bright’s service areas through December 31, 2022.
Bright is actively engaged in discussions with the Homesnap team for a longer-term agreement beyond December 2022, if we can ensure that your data is protected and continues to be used to support your businesses.

Bright MLS understands that many subscribers utilize Homesnap as part of their business toolkit. Bright MLS will keep you informed about the progress every step of the way.

Sentrilock Update: Establishing Security Questions

Oct 13, 2022

Effective Tuesday, October 18, 2022, SentriLock is implementing an extra layer of security to the SentriKey® Real Estate website and mobile app. Users will be asked to establish security questions and verify their cell phone.

Security questions will offer a secure validation of your account in addition to your PIN. Users will select from 10 predetermined questions and enter your personalized answers. Once those answers are saved, a cell phone verification prompt will be activated. *SentriLock has been notified that users are not receiving verification texts when attempting to verify their cell phone number. At this time, Sentrilock’s IT team is working closely with phone carriers to ensure that our verification messages are not being marked as spam by the carriers and are being delivered. Sentrilock users can skip this prompt for the time being, until carrier issues are resolved.*

Customer Support will use these questions to validate a user’s identity if they cannot remember their PIN or password. This will provide them with a faster, more efficient experience and eliminate the need for a PIN/Password reset email.

There will be a 28 day grace period for users to establish security questions. After the 28-days, users must initiate the security questions or you will not be able to access the SentriKey® Real Estate® website or app. Please establish your security questions to the SentriKey Real Estate website or app so you do not lose access.

Below is a step-by-step process of the security and phone verification process.

If you are a existing customer, you will:

Receive a pop-up screen prompting you to make a selection on the SentriKey® Real Estate website or in the mobile app.
Answer two questions from the predetermined list.
Be prompted to verify your cell phone number. Note: If your account features a verified cell phone, this step is omitted and you will see a green checkmark next to the field.
Receive a cell phone verification prompt. If your cell phone is already verified you will not see this field.

If you are a new customer, you will:

Complete account activation
Select and answer two questions from the predetermined list as part of your initial account activation.
Be prompted to verify your cell phone number. Note: If your account features a verified cell phone, this step is omitted and you will see a green checkmark next to the field.
Receive a cell phone verification prompt once you successfully activate your account.

If you have any questions, call Sentrilock’s Customer Support team at 513-618-5800 or email the team at support@sentrilock.com.

Prices keep going up while demand for housing cools

Oct 12, 2022

The local real estate market continues its march toward moderation as demand continues to fall but prices are still climbing compared to last year. Total sold dollar volume was down more than 23% in September of 2022 going from more than $325.5 million last September to just over $249.1 million this year. Units sold decreased nearly 30% with more than 200 less homes sold this year compared to last. There were 785 sales in September of 2021 compared to 552 for this September. Median price remains high, clocking in at $420,000 versus $378,000 last September, representing a nearly 11% year-over-year increase.

“The market is a roller coaster right now,” states FAAR Board of Director Pia Contreras-Sanchez. “Every Monday I wait for the good or bad news on the release of new mortgage rates. It is difficult to explain to buyers that we must look for houses in a lower price point as their money doesn’t go as far with higher mortgage rates. But there are bright spots in the market for buyers. We are seeing more home inspections, seller concessions, and price reductions. For sellers, even though the market is moderating, most have built good equity over the past few years. It really is a good time to buy or sell!”

Days on market, the time it takes from when a listing enters the market until it receives a ratified contract and is removed from active status on the multiple listing service, increased another 80% this September, coming in at 23 days versus just 13 last year. However, even these large percentage increases are adding just one or two days to the average and are still slightly below the historical 5-year average of 30 days.

Active listings continue to increase, jumping more than 17% over last year with 1,038 homes on the market at the end of September 2022 versus 884 last year. Breaking the 1,000 active listings threshold on the market places inventory close to 5-year averages but still presents a very competitive market, especially in the price brackets of $400,000 and under. New listings were down again this month, with 775 new homes coming on the market compared to 873 last September. New pendings remain down with 557 new contracts ratified in September compared to 788 last year, representing a nearly 30% year-over-year decline.

Want to know your climate risk?

Sep 16, 2022

Want to know your climate risk? A new tool can help you and your clients assess risk and better plan for the future.

Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) integrates information from across the federal government to help people consider their local exposure to climate-related hazards. People working in community organizations or for local, Tribal, state, or Federal governments can use the site to help them develop equitable climate resilience plans to protect people, property, and infrastructure. The site also points users to Federal grant funds for climate resilience projects, including those available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Take me to the tool!

2023 Expo REmix Photos

Sep 15, 2022

REALTORS enjoyed refreshing, reconnecting, and refocusing their business at this year’s Expo REmix thanks to top-notch speakers, value-loaded classes, and over 100 vendors! Thank you to our sponsors, Fairway Independent Mortgage, 9Hammers, MBH Settlement Group, and Bright MLS. Check out photos from the day here!