REALTOR Convention & Expo in Orlando

Realty Executives stole the show again this year! The front of the Orange County Convention Center displayed two giant Realty Executives banners flanking the three REALTOR banners in the center. We also had larger than life-size column wraps at the entrance as well.

While Randy McKinney, our Regional Developer was busy in meetings serving as your NAR Region 5 Vice President, Drew Rambo, Director of Franchise Development for our region was working our International booth. We were literally everywhere again this year!

In addition to the fun everyone had, there were several important topics covered at the Convention including the Economic Stimulus Package, policy changes and the new REALTORS Federal Credit Union that will be entirely Internet based and will begin in mid-2009.

• Another noteworthy topic is the new NAR green designation. This designation fully supports 'a green philosophy and excellence in green leadership.'
• NAR also announced the launch of the new and improved Realtor.com. To get a tour of the new site and all of its benefits, visit TourtheNewRealtor.com.
• NAR's FHA Toolkit ("an interactive publication providing valuable information on the use of FHA for financing mortgages") is available online at Realtor.org for members.

Stay informed on the many important issues facing our industry today. Take a look at the above links and continue to learn and improve the services we provide our consumers, customers and clients.

MidSouth Meeting Has "Meaty" Content

Our Realty Executives MidSouth Regional Meeting took place last week here in Gulf Shores. We focused on mazimizing opportunities, increasing profitability and marketing in today's market. Attendees were pleased they made the trip. We welcomed two guests from Realty Executives International: Todd Sumney, Director of Marketing & President of Brand Architects and Marissa Leon, Communications & Public Relations Manager. In addition, two representatives from the Warranty Group came to discuss our branded Realty Executives Home Protection Plan. The shrimp boil Monday night was also a success, thanks to our "Shrimp Bake" chef, Drew Rambo! A huge thanks to those who participated. Below are a few comments from Executives who attended.

"...I just wanted you guys to know how much I learned, needed and enjoyed our mini convention! To all of the agents who didn't attend, they don't know what they missed out on!"

"Good facilities, good time, meaty subject matter...encouraging; great ideas"

"Good information...The services have been greatly improved since I last accessed the website."

Next year we are looking to hold our Regional Meeting in conjunction with the Southern Region in Savannah, Georgia around the same time of year. We look forward to a productive 2009!

Realtors hoping markets rebound

Below is an article by Trevor Stokes, Staff Writer for Times Daily, in which our Regional Developer and Broker/Owner of Realty Executives Gulf Coast, was quoted. Different Brokers from around the state speak on the condition of the market in their area. Good to know. Please read...

By Trevor Stokes

Alabama real estate has been relatively sheltered from the ongoing national foreclosure and mortgage crises, but the state's housing market has slowed significantly, which has been a topic of discussion this week during the Alabama Association of Realtors convention at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center.

From January to July, home sales decreased 22 percent; during the same period in 2007, prices increased a slight 0.4 percent on average and homes stayed on the market 10 percent longer, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama.

"We're coming out of a difficult market," said Randy McKinney, owner of Realty Executives Gulf Coast. Many condo flippers - so called because they are short-term buyers who intend to sell at an inflated price - got trapped when Hurricanes Ivan and Rita increased the area's insurance costs and when subprime mortgages adjusted and increased their rates. McKinney said that after Ivan in 2004, the condo-flipping market heated up, but after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the market cooled down. Condo owners were stuck with mortgages worth more than the actual property. "They gambled - they lost the gamble," McKinney said.

Across the state, McKinney said that some of the best markets in Alabama are in regions associated with the military's Base Realignment and Closure Act, areas such as Huntsville, Phenix City, Dothan and Enterprise.

According to the Alabama Center for Real Estate, the Muscle Shoals region ranked first in the state's smaller markets for the greatest stability in home sales for the year to date.

"We're lacking listings; our inventory is low," said Joy Long, president of the Shoals Area Board of Realtors. Last year was slow in new construction, keeping the Shoals market stagnant.
One local trend, Long said, is homeowners who downsize from a large house to a patio home.
Unlike the Shoals, Montgomery has suffered from overconstruction.

Sandra Nickel, a real estate agency owner in Montgomery, said the state capital's market was down 14 percent over a year ago. The biggest drag is oversupply of new construction. She said that existing home sales were even from 2007. Like all real estate markets, location is key. Nickel said that in Montgomery's historic downtown pocket, supply was lower than demand, but in some outlying suburbs, the housing supply far outpaced the demand.

Statewide, the number of new construction permits in July was down 44 percent compared to July 2007, a decrease many say comes from increasing labor, materials and land costs. Closer to the Shoals, Huntsville presents a unique market because of its diversified employment pool, an influx of industrial workers and the upcoming BRAC, which is projected to bring additional residents.

"We're not so heavily tied to one industry," said Sid Pugh, a Re/Max broker in Huntsville.
Although Huntsville gained 665 jobs for a total of 197,773 from a year ago, its unemployment rate increased from 3 to 4.2 percent, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

"What's hurting our market is people coming in from a depressed market and can't sell (their former property)," Pugh said. For example, someone who might afford a $400,000 home will instead buy a $150,000 home or may even rent a home while their former residence, in another state, stays on the market. "More people would buy in Huntsville if other markets were stronger elsewhere," Pugh said. Pugh said that a February report from Market Graphics, a market research group, indicates that if Huntsville maintained its current trajectory, the demand would outstrip supply by 2010 without factoring in BRAC. Pugh said the current overstock of houses would take one to two years to be absorbed into the market, and that sellers have begun to offer prospective buyers incentives. Interest rates remained at historic lows with the rate for a 30-year mortgage recently dipping below 6 percent. Pugh, who has worked for 30 years in real estate, said he remembered when the rate was 16.5 percent. "There's no reason why people shouldn't be buying," Pugh said, even as credit tightens as the market readjusts from loosened credit requirements.

Robert Scott, a Birmingham broker for Re/Max, said that the UAB Health System, the city's largest employer, "has been our stabilizer and our salvation. If we still relied on steel, we would be hurting." Like the Shoals market, Birmingham saw gradual and modest growth in its real estate market, Scott said, unlike other areas that saw unsustainable booms.

Trevor Stokes can be reached at 740-5728 or trevor.stokes@TimesDaily.com.

CINDY STEWART JOINS REALTY EXECUTIVES

Gulf Shores, AL (Grassroots Newswire) September 4, 2008 - Realty Executives Gulf Coast is pleased to announce that Cindy Stewart has recently joined its team and will be practicing as a real estate sales professional out of the company's office located at 3479-B Gulf Shores Parkway in Gulf Shores.

"We are honored to have someone like Cindy who so accurately portrays what the Realty Executives brand represents on our Realty Executives team," said Broker/Owner, Randy McKinney. "She is a hard working experienced individual that will no doubt add to the quality service that our team provides to the communities in and around the Gulf Coast."

Stewart is a native of Mobile, Alabama who began her career in real estate over 20 years ago. Her experience stems from working for the family business in Orlando, Florida and later in the country of Norway. Cindy and her son, Brandon, decided to return to the Gulf Coast in 1995. Since that time, Stewart has become an expert in the Baldwin County real estate business in areas from condominium association management to real estate consulting and sales.

As an affiliate of the National Board of Realtors, the Alabama Association of Realtors, and member of the Baldwin County Board of Realtors, Stewart continues to stay involved in Realtor Associations on local and state levels. Additionally, Cindy is very involved in her community. She is a member of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, a graduate of the 2005-06 Leadership Baldwin County program and also works with the Sea Turtle Watch (Share-the-Beach) project. Stewart has participated as the Volunteer Chairman and co-chairman of VIP services for the Annual National Shrimp Festival and is currently on the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo Board of Directors.

For additional information, please call 251.968.4300 or visit http://www.realtyexecutivesgulfcoast.com/.

THE CUMMINGS COMPANY IN MOBILE CONVERTS TO REALTY EXECUTIVES BRAND

Addition of the Mobile office will give Realty Executives MidSouth Region coverage along the Gulf Coast with offices in Mobile, Gulf Shores and Daphne

Gulf Shores, AL (Grassroots Newswire) -- Realty Executives MidSouth is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Mobile. Realty Executives The Cummings Company, owned by veteran real estate developer and broker, Reid Cummings, and his wife Rebecca Cummings, opened last week at 2316-C Knollwood Drive in Mobile.

After moving back to Mobile in 1986, Reid Cummings has been heavily involved in Realtor association activities including his service as president of the Mobile Association of Realtors in 2000, Realtor of the Year in 2001, and participation in numerous association committees and leadership roles over his 22 year membership.

"In today’s market when we’re so inundated with negative media attention I felt like we needed to evaluate where our best opportunities for growth are and after much research I am confident that the Realty Executives brand has the capacity and stability to help us grow and provide exceptional service to our customers and clients," said Cummings. “Realty Executives is a company with great business ethics, good family values and the international support and connections we need. We looked at other companies and decided that the tools, systems and technologies offered by Realty Executives International were unsurpassed."

Over the years Cummings has distinguished himself as a leader in the real estate industry and has gained an enormous amount of experience in a variety of different areas including development, leasing, management, and brokerage of shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses, restaurants, movie theaters, waterfront properties and residential subdivisions. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of Real Estate at the University of South Alabama. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Real Estate in USA's Mitchell College of Business, and is a member of the President's Advisory Council at the University of Mobile.

Realty Executives The Cummings Company currently has 5 sales associates with the resources and plans to expand significantly in the coming year. "We plan on recruiting additional Executives to assist us in the development and sales of all of our development projects, including two new ones in Mobile,” said Cummings. “Snowden Place is a mixed-use single-family and townhome gated community on Cottage Hill Road, and Mobile Aerospace Park is a new light industrial and warehouse distribution park on Pleasant Valley near Montlimar Drive."

"I am so pleased that Reid and Rebecca have affiliated with Realty Executives because they possess a superior level of professionalism and are highly motivated entrepreneurs. Given that Realty Executives has the tools and systems designed for the highly productive professional practitioner of real estate, the Cummings Family will be able to build on their already successful business by providing an even higher level of real estate service to the greater Mobile area," said Randy McKinney, regional developer for the Realty Executives MidSouth Region.

For additional company information, please call Realty Executives, The Cummings Company at (251) 602-1941 or visit http://www.rexcummings.com/ or Realty Executives MidSouth Region, which consists of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, at (251) 949-5000, http://www.realtyexecutivesmidsouth.com/.

Randy McKinney Acquires Realty Executives Gulf Coast Brokerage

Gulf Shores, AL (Grassroots Newswire) August 14, 2008 - The Realty Executives MidSouth Region announced today that Randy McKinney, regional developer for Realty Executives in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, will now own and manage the Realty Executives Gulf Coast office. The company will remain at the same office location at 3479-B Gulf Shores Parkway, Gulf Shores, Alabama 36542.

The company currently has eleven Executives (sales associates) with the resources and plans to expand significantly in the coming year to better meet the needs of consumers.

McKinney has more than 25 years of real estate experience on local, regional and national levels where he has consistently established himself as a leader and educator in the industry and local community. He is a Certified Real Estate Broker (CRB), Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and was also recognized as the 1999 Baldwin County Realtor of the Year. McKinney also served as President of the Alabama Association of Realtors (AAR) in 2005 and has served on numerous committees in the Realtor organization including the Executive Committees for both AAR and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and is currently serving as the Regional Vice President, Region 5 for NAR.

"I have watched the Realty Executives name continue to grow globally in recent years and I am excited about the opportunities for the continued growth of the Realty Executives brand here in the MidSouth Region," said McKinney.

Drew Rambo, director of franchise development for Realty Executives MidSouth, will assume additional regional leadership to continue the organization's focus on growth and support of its franchisees. This will permit McKinney to reduce his travel schedule in order to focus on expanding and improving the local brokerage.

For additional company information, please visit http://www.realtyexecutivesgulfcoast.com/ or call 251.968.4300.

About REALTY EXECUTIVES
Realty Executives International, Inc. is one of the fastest-growing real estate franchises in the United States, with nearly 15,000 sales associates and more than 800 franchisees. The Phoenix-based, privately held company has offices in 15 countries including the United States, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, France, Panama, Nicaragua, Australia, Israel, Greece, Poland, Indonesia and Singapore. Publications like Entrepreneur, Success and Inc. magazines have regularly ranked Realty Executives International as a leader in the real estate industry based on franchise growth, management stability and financial soundness. For more than 10 years, Realty Executives MidSouth Region, which consists of the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, has been responsible for awarding Realty Executives franchise rights and protected territories throughout the MidSouth and can be reached at (251) 949.5000 or http://www.realtyexecutivesmidsouth.com/.
###

2008 MidSouth Regional Meeting

REALTY EXECUTIVES M I D S O U T H
2008 Regional Mini-Convention
October 13th and 14th at Gulf Shores Adult Activity Center
260 Clubhouse Drive, Gulf Shores, Alabama

Tentative Schedule

Monday, October 13th, 2008, Broker/Owner Day, 10:00am- 5:00pm:
· WELCOME & UPDATES
· BEST PRACTICES BROKER/OWNER ROUND TABLE
· WORKING LUNCH PROVIDED
· GRASSROOTS PR

· BROKERAGE PROFITABILITY
· RECRUITING & MARKETING TOOLS FOR BROKER/OWNERS (Including
the NEW Online Recruiting Presentation)

Tuesday, October 14th, Executive & Broker/Owner Day 9:00am- 5pm:
· WELCOME & UPDATES
· KEYNOTE SPEAKER, RANDY MCKINNEY, REGIONAL DEVELOPER
· COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLIC RELATIONS & STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
· LUNCH PROVIDED
· EXECUTIVE MARKETING & BRANDING, (Including the NEW REX 2.0 Online Ad Builder & NEW Buying & Listing Presentations)

Other Events to Participate In:
- 37th Annual National Shrimp Festival, Thursday- Sunday (10/9/08- 10/12/08), http://www.nationalshrimpfestival.com/
- CRS Financing course CRS 205, Thursday, 10/9/08 and Friday, 10/10/08

Accommodation Suggestions:
· *For golfing & shopping: COURTYARD BY MARRIOT AT CRAFT FARMS; Phone #1.800.360.9375 or local #251.968.1113
· On the Beach: PERDIDO BEACH RESORT IN ORANGE BEACH; Phone #1.800.634.7263 or local #251.981.9811
· Closest to Gulf Shores Adult Activity Center: LAQUINTA INN; Phone # 251.967-3500
· Or visit http://www.gulfshores.com/lodging/ for other lodging information

*NEGOTIATED ROOM RATE OF $109 AT COURTYARD BY MARRIOT. ROOMS HELD UNTIL SEPT. 12TH, 2008 AND ARE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS.


Click on, print out & mail/email/fax the Registration Form below to Register or Call 1-877-963-9876. Look forward to seeing you there!