Fourth Quarter 2013
In This Issue:
Page 1: 2013 President’s Recap
Page 2: 2014 President, Charles Kassaw & NewHomeSourceProfessional
Page 3: Deposit Scam & Chrome Settings with Forms
Page 3: Contact Information
A Look Back at 2013
By Wanda Franklin, NEFMLS President 2013 proved to be a great year for real estate in North Florida. Like most of the country we enjoyed low interest rates (with only slight increases) and a tight inventory that created a competitive bidding market. Sales prices continued to rise through the year as well as the number of transactions.
2013 NEFMLS President Wanda Franklin
MLS statistics reflect an increase of 24% in the number of sold transaction in 2013 as compared to 2012. The total sold volume of 2013 was up by 32% over 2012 and Median Sales prices were up by 14%. The New Inventory for 2013 came in with a median list price 13% higher than 2012. Very impressive.
Nationwide, Realtor.com reported that housing prices increased faster than predicted, housing affordability remained high, and “all cash buyers” were a strong market segment in 2013. They also reported that mobile apps were the most influential tool in 2013 for accelerating connections between buyers, sellers, and Realtors. RealtyWEB.Net was also busy this year keeping up with the growing demands of the 2013 market. There were many enhancements to the MLS system such as relative date searching, the ability to rotate photos, and improved cross platform compatibility. We partnered with SmarterAgent to provide a mobile app tool for our members, rolled out a new Vacant Land Listing Agreement, and included more informational links on the listings going direct to Metro Market Trends, public record data just to name a few. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the 2013 members of the NEFMLS Board of Directors. It was a real pleasure to work with a group of professionals, from diverse business backgrounds and offices, focusing on a common goal of improving our MLS and how to best serve our members. 2013 marked the 20th anniversary of the Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service, Inc. and to honor this mile marker the 2013 member dues and office fees were reduced by $50 and IDX fees dropped by $200! I am confident that the 2014 NEFMLS Board of Directors, led by Charles Kassaw of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Inc., will continue to strive to make this year a success. A special thank you to the two outgoing directors from 2013, Clare Berry of Berry & Co. Real Estate and Jerry Smith of RE/Max Specialists. It has been a true pleasure to be your 2013 President and I continue to look forward to the future.
Keep Connected The purpose of this newsletter is to provide all members of the NEFMLS with new, current, and updated information to get the most from your MLS computing system. Be sure to visit our website at www.RealtyWEB.Net for access to the MLS, as well as online education.
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Introducing Charles Kassaw Northeast Florida MLS, Inc.’s 2014 President It is with great pleasure to introduce Charles Kassaw of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Inc. as the 2014 Northeast Florida Multiple Listing President. Charles, originally from Alabama (and yes - Roll Tide is his cheer) has been in Florida since 1977 with his wife, Veronica, 3 children and 7 grandchildren. He began his real estate career 15 years ago and is currently a manager with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Inc. in the Mandarin area. Charles has served on the NEFMLS Board of Directors for a total of 4 years and has been participating on the Budget & Finance Committee for 2 years. Joining Charles on the 2014 Board is Gonzalo Mejia, President-Elect, Watson Realty Corp.; Mark Rosener, Treasurer, Watson Realty Corp.; Roy Orren, Secretary, Marketmasters of the Southeast; Stan Bishhop, Exit Real Estate Gallery; Sonny Downey, Exit Real Estate Gallery; Barbara Galvin, East Coast Realty Jacksonville, Inc.; Kathy Karr-Garcia, The Beaches Realty Group; Kim Knapp, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty; Linda Mcinnis, Mcinnis Realty Inc.; and Kathy Tinney, Century 21 Discover Realty, Inc. Everyone is looking forward to a great 2014!!
New Home Source Professional is coming January 21st! RealtyWEB.Net is excited to announce our recent partnership with New Home Source Professional. Designed specifically for real estate agents, New Homes Source Professional offers the largest collection of new home listings and communities available anywhere. You will be able to access it direct from flexmls on to enhance your new home searches. You can: •
Search New Home Communities utilizing detailed search options
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Large Map with Interactive Community Details
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Integration with your mobile device and more!
As a member of RealtyWEB.Net, you receive this valuable resource FREE. Use New Home Source Professional to offer buyers more options, develop your resale business, and gain a competitive advantage. Watch for future announcements on the launch of our localized New Home Source Professional tool! Page 2
Florida Realtors Warns of Deposit Scam From Florida Realtors – Jan. 10, 2014 – A new type of theft steals homebuyers’ deposits shortly before closing. While Florida has had only one confirmed case so far, Realtors should be wary, according to Florida Realtors lawyers.
Using forms in Google Chrome If you are having difficulty using any of the NEFAR/ NEFMLS forms in while using Chrome as your browser, you may have incorrect settings for the default PDF viewer.
1. Criminals hack into Realtors’ email accounts – often Gmail or Hotmail – without being detected.
The online forms require that you use Adobe Reader in order to fill them out properly, save the documents, and sign them. Adobe Reader is a free program but some browsers are being default to different “reader type” programs.
2. The scammers then continuously search emails for discussions of upcoming closings.
Chrome is one of them. It uses the Chrome PDF viewer not Adobe, but it is very easy to change.
3. When scammers have learned enough about an upcoming closing – such as the amount of the deposit, names of one or both parties and/or the identity of the entity holding the deposit – they take action.
1. Be sure you have a recent version of Adobe Reader installed on your machine. Currently the are distributing Adobe Reader XI as their newest version. We recommend that the version installed on your PC not be older than version 9. Should you need to download Adobe reader click here.
The details:
4. With closing information in hand, the fraudsters send an email to the entity holding the deposit from the Realtor’s email address, so it appears legitimate with the Realtor’s normal signature, links to social media pages, etc. The fake email often has legitimate attachments – e.g. the escrow disclosure and agreement, or the purchase and sales contract – if they appeared earlier in a Realtor’s email. 5. The email directs the holder of the deposit to wire the money to an entity owned by the fraudsters. The name of this entity appears to be a closing or title agency office.
2. Open Chrome 3. Type “about:plugins” in Chrome’s Omnibox and press enter.
4. Click “Disable” for “Chrome PDF Viewer”. 5. Click “Enable” for “Adobe Reader”.
If the deposit holder wires the funds as requested in the email, the money is then gone for good – it’s been stolen from the deposit holder’s account by fraud. What can Realtors do to avoid becoming a victim? Always verify emails asking to transfer deposits by phone with all parties involved in the transaction. Use only known, legitimate phone numbers – not phone numbers obtained from the deposit transfer request email. Be especially cautious when the wiring instructions reference a bank branch or entity located outside Florida. •
Advise all transaction parties of the scheme and ask them to be on the lookout for responses to emails they have not sent.
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An unexpected email response may indicate that their email accounts have been hacked.
Your settings should look like the following when complete.
Chrome PDF Viewer will be disabled and the Adobe Reader plug-in will be activated. All PDF forms that you open within Chrome will now open with Adobe Reader. If you need further assistance or have questions, please contact Technical support (904) 394-9494 x 1605 or email support@realtyweb.net
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2013 NEFMLS Directors President Wanda Franklin
NEFMLS Staff Chief Executive Officer Ron Stephan
President Elect Charles Kassaw
General Manager Kimberly Wiggins
Treasurer Gonzalo Mejia Secretary Kathy Tinney
Office Manager Amy Trujillo Accountant Linda Gerbec
Partners EasyRealtySites FBS Florida Times Union ListHub Syndication Listingbook Metro Market Trends MLS Advantage REALTOR.com ShowingTime
Approved Vendors
Education Taskforce Chair: Don Shamblin
Receptionist Taylor Carter
flexmls IDX a la mode, inc. CIS Data Cloud CMA Comissions, Inc Constellation Web Solutions Diverse Solutions Homes Media Solutions HouseHunt.com Homes & Land Homes 123 IDX, LLC. Market Leader N-Play, LLC Onboard Informatics Realty Production Real Estate Digital RSP USA Smarter Agent Top Producer Wolfnet Technologies YourMLSSearch.com
Membership 394-9494 X 1603
Northeast Florida MLS RealtyWEB.Net
Metro Market Trends (MMT)
Clare Berry Stan Bishop Sonny Downey Kathy Karr-Garcia Kim Knapp Roy Orren Mark Rosener Jerry Smith MLS Technology Committee Chair: Andre’ Boutte’ MLS Abuse Reporting Committee (MARC) Chair: Musette Gilberstadt
Web/Social Media Administrator Sonja Harmon IS/Technical Specialist Luke James IT Administrator/Assistant Victor Melendez Membership Compliance Angela Meeks Training/Technical Specialist Alan Posey Public Records/ Support/Training Dana Thomas Business Manager Wayne Wetherington
Technical Support 7801 Deercreek Club Rd. 394-9494 X 1605 Jacksonville, FL 32256 or support@RealtyWEB.Net (904) 394-9494/1-888-296-6123
(904) 394-9494 x 1225 1-800-239-1668 mmt@mmtinfo.com Page 3