Early voting is underway for primary runoff elections on July 31st. HAR has endorsed 4 candidates. Mortgage rates continue to decline, with 30-year fixed rates at historic lows of 3.53% and 15-year fixed rates below 3%. In the Houston housing market, new listings decreased 7.2% last week while pending sales increased 23.7% and closed sales rose 0.5%.

1. Early Voting Now Underway in
Primary Runoff Elections
• REALTORS® still need to head to the polls for the primary
runoff elections on Tuesday, July 31.
• Early voting runs from Monday, July 23 through Friday, July
27, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Location information by county is available
on HAR Connect.
• HAR has four Recommended Candidates in the runoff
elections. They are:
David Dewhurst, Candidate for U.S. Senate
Greg Bonnen, Candidate for Texas House District 24
Jacquie Chaumette, Candidate for Texas House District 26
Gene Wu, Candidate for Texas House District 137
More detailed information may be found on HAR Connect.

2. Mortgage Rates Continue Their Descent
• Mortgage rates sunk to record lows again last week, marking the
17th consecutive week that the 30-year fixed-rate average has
lingered below 4 percent. The 30-year fixed rate has been under
4 percent all but one week this year.
• The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to an historic-low 3.53
percent, down from 3.56 percent the previous week and 4.52
percent a year ago.
• The 15-year fixed-rate average remained below 3 percent for the
eighth consecutive week. The average of 2.83 percent was down
from 2.86 percent a week prior and 3.66 percent a year ago.
• The hybrid adjustable rate mortgages have also stayed below 3
percent again. The one-year ARM was 2.69 percent, the same
as it was a week earlier. It was 2.97 percent a year ago.

3. Weekly HAR Market Stat
It's been a relatively pleasant year for the business of residential real estate. Case in
point, the June 2012 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose to its
highest level since May 2007. And for the first time since 2005, housing is on track for
being a net positive contributor to national GDP in 2012. Speaking on behalf of
America, it's about time. Throw in some real price gains and you can expect holdout
buyers to be less afraid of buying and sellers to be less afraid of listing.
In the Houston region, for the week ending July 15:
• New Listings decreased 7.2% to 2,123
• Pending Sales increased 23.7% to 1,683
• Closed Sales increased 0.5% to 1,282

4. Open Your Mind to Learning
15-Hour MCE Package
This course allows agents to complete their entire 15-hour education
requirement for renewal in two days. The package includes the
following courses: Negotiating Real Estate Texas Style (3 hrs.), Texas
Real Estate and the Economy – Past, Present and Preview (3 hrs.),
Texas Landlords and Texas Tenants – What Both Need to Know (3
hrs.), TREC Legal Update MCE (3 hrs.) and TREC Ethics MCE (3 hrs.).
Date: Thursday & Friday, July 26 & 27
Time: Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: HAR Central
Investment: $125
Register at www.har.com/edu Questions? 713-629-1900 ext. 6