So I’m a little behind on this blog post, but I wanted to just recap my experience at the Texas Association of Realtors Conference in Fort Worth that took place August 31 – September 3, 2015.
2015’s coursework materials are still available here.
The Texas Realtor® Convention is designed for agents and broker to network, attend courses to refine and expand their existing skills, and peruse the trade expo to learn more about the future of the industry. The coursework also counts toward agents’ continuing education requirements to keep their licenses up to date. The convention is who’s who in the Texas mortgage and real estate industry.
This convention’s headliner was Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger, he of “piloting into the Hudson” fame. He shared a riveting account (and video) of his famous exploit and was a very entertaining opening to the week.
The biggest problem for me was that each morning and afternoon had about three different courses running concurrently, and I had to pick and choose which ones I would make and which I wouldn’t. But the info I got was great – took lots of notes – on systematizing processes, better TTPs (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for those without a military background), and discovered the nascent and blossoming Young Professional Network (YPN) geared toward young agents (defined as under 40, if I am not mistaken – apparently the median age of an agent in Texas is 57 years old).
One thing I noticed was that it seems like EVERYWHERE else in Texas is a hot, hot, hot market. Everyone already knows that Dallas, Houston, and Austin are blazing hot seller markets right now. But even the agents from Amarillo and Abilene were talking about how great their markets were. In the “Common Contract Mistakes” class, the speaker took it for granted that the buyer would get little to no seller concessions, because that is the rule in most of Texas.
Not in Killeen. Killeen is still a buyer’s market (even though inventory is creeping under 6 months) and buyers can routinely expect a lot of seller concessions like the title policy, closing costs, and survey. Who knows how long it will last, but Fort Hood area buyers have it good!
I only attended the first two days and wish I had stayed longer. Originally I thought the last two days were mostly committee meetings, but I was quite wrong! Wednesday was the trade expo, and Thursday had a LOT of great content regarding internet marketing and other tech savvy topics that I could definitely have benefitted from.
I’ll learn my lesson and stay for all four days at the next one! It will be 7-10 September, 2016, in Galveston, TX.