1. August MLS Sales Statistics
The August 2012 MLS statistics will be released on Tuesday morning,
and here are some quick takeaways:
•August sales of single-family homes jumped 20.0 percent compared
to August 2011. Contracts closed on 6,600 homes in August, sending
inventory falling to 4.9 months—a level last seen more than 10 years
ago.
•The single-family home average price increased 4.0 percent year-
over-year to $224,464, the highest level for an August in Houston. The
median price rose 3.8 percent to $165,000, also a record high for an
August in Houston.
•Rentals of single-family homes rose 10.5 percent compared to August
2011, while year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals edged up
2.7 percent.
•For more detailed information, please visit the HAR Online Newsroom
for this and all other news releases.

2. Fed Announces Plans to Buy Mortgage Bonds
• QE3 is not the name of a new luxury ocean liner. It means
Quantitative Easing (Round) 3. It includes the plan for the Federal
Reserve to purchase $40 billion in mortgage bonds per month…
indefinitely!
• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the bond-
buying program "should increase the downward pressure on long-
term interest rates more generally, but also on mortgage rates
specifically, which should provide further support to the housing
sector by encouraging home purchases and refinancing.”
• The Financial Times reported that the lower rates that are
intended from this action may not be seen by consumers because
mortgage companies are already backlogged and have no
incentive to pass along the lower rates to consumers.
• Others have complained about the need to print new money to
fund this effort and what economic consequences may result.

3. Weekly HAR Market Stat
You fill the pot with the water and you turn the stovetop on and you wait. You watch it
and you want something to happen and it seems to take an exceptionally long time.
This is our current housing market. It's been an undeniably good spring and summer,
and now we wait to see if the fall showcase is just as good if we mix in the right amount
of inventory, sales and days on market.
In the Houston region, for the week ending September 9:
• New Listings decreased 0.9% to 1,703
• Pending Sales increased 43.7% to 1,351
• Closed Sales increased 8.7% to 788

4. Leasing 101 – Understanding the Basics of Leasing
While real estate licensees are authorized to represent clients in lease
transactions, few licensees perform lease transactions with any
regularity. As a result, when a client comes to licensees for
representation on a lease, many licensees are not equipped to offer
adequate service to their clients. This course is designed for the real
estate licensee who needs the basic fundamentals of leasing
representation. Students will learn how to adequately represent
landlords and tenants and will be taught how to use forms associated
with applying for lease agreements. *Please be on time as class will
start promptly at 9am.
Date: Thursday, 9/20/12
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Location: HAR Central
Investment: $39
Register @ www.har.com/edu Questions? 713-629-1900 ext. 6