RISMedia, May 19, 2011—REALTORS® have been focusing more on training to help them better meet the needs of clients in a housing market with unique challenges, according to the 2011 National Association of REALTORS® Member Profile. The study’s results are representative of the nation’s REALTORS®,

RISMedia, May 19, 2011—For the products and services you use every day, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (NAR’s) REALTOR Benefits® Program has you covered. Now, with the broad variety of insurance offerings included in the program, you can select various personal and professional coverages

RISMedia’s Achieve! – Real Estate’s Marketing & Opportunity Conference—will provide the most innovative educational programs and networking opportunities for brokers and agents. Industry experts Joe Clement, Todd Hetherington and Ed Krafchow are among the leading broker panelists who will offer an in-depth look at where the industry is today and where it’s headed in the future during the Opening Session titled: “The State of the Real Estate Industry – Expanding Your Marketshare and Profitability in 2011” at this year’s Achieve! Conference. The session will take place on Tuesday, May 24 from 1:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Rye Town Hilton in Westchester County, New York.

This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: Realtors Property Resource™ reaches significant milestone, improve client communications with the newest REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner, Ifbyphone, and save $5 off your next print on demand order. For more information

Sponsors of RISMedia’s Achieve! – Real Estate’s Marketing & Opportunity Conference—represent the leading companies and organizations in the industry. Each week, we will present a selection of this year’s event sponsors to offer our readers a more in-depth look at these industry leaders that you won’t want to miss

While the past few years have been challenging for many, owning a home continues to be a goal for Americans of every background, according to John D. Trasviña, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the first quarter of 2011, fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans, based on the Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) Quarterly Product Transition Report released recently. Refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate.

RISMEDIA, May 17, 2011—In the current complex housing market, it is critical for real estate professionals to evaluate their individual markets for short-term and long-term real estate investment potential for their clients. In every fluctuating housing market, there are opportunities. The real estate professional who has a command of these nascent opportunities will be a sought-out source for advice-hungry buyers. Home value shifts combined with employment levels and income growth can determine the short-term and long-term potential of a market. Ingo Winzer, President of Local Market Monitor, states that ”in over-priced markets, the momentum of home value changes is more important than income growth in determining future home values.”

RISMEDIA, May 17, 2011—Mobile technology is changing the way the world operates, largely by providing smartphone users the opportunity to visit a website directly from their fingertips. It is no secret that while consumers are getting much more demanding of the offerings websites provide on their mobile devices,

RISMEDIA, May 17, 2011—You’ve just started your own business. You have put your sweat, blood, and tears into its success. So, now what? How do you plan to spread the word? Technology is advancing so rapidly that if you thought you had a real bang-up marketing plan a year ago, do me a favor and shred it.

RISMEDIA, May 17, 2011—It has been said that salespeople who avoid making phone calls have skinny children. Prospecting for new business is critically important. For the majority of salespeople, it is by far the most challenging and stressful aspect of their profession. Successful salespeople are proactive and

RISMEDIA, May 16, 2011— RISMedia’s Achieve! – Real Estate’s Marketing & Opportunity Conference—will provide the most innovative educational programs and networking opportunities for brokers and agents. Industry experts Joe Clement, Todd Hetherington and Ed Krafchow are among the leading broker panelists who will offer an in-depth look at where the industry is today and where it’s headed in the future during the Opening Session titled: “The State of the Real Estate Industry – Expanding Your Marketshare and Profitability in 2011” at this year’s Achieve! Conference. The session will take place on Tuesday, May 24 from 1:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Rye Town Hilton in Westchester County, New York.

RISMEDIA, May 16, 2011—Sponsors of RISMedia’s Achieve! – Real Estate’s Marketing & Opportunity Conference—represent the leading companies and organizations in the industry. Each week, we will present a selection of this year’s event sponsors to offer our readers a more in-depth look at these industry leaders

RISMEDIA, May 16, 2011—Price declines will end and average U.S. home prices will stabilize by Labor Day. Prices in even the hardest-hit markets will level out by the end of 2012. That’s the latest prediction from the authoritative Moody’s Analytics and Fiserv, Inc, after an analysis of home price trends in 375 markets tracked by the Fiserv Case-Schiller Indexes. Fiserv reports that home prices have fallen so far that they are at pre-bubble levels, creating affordable housing relative to income which, coupled with a slowly improving economy, will finally end price declines.

RISMEDIA, May 16, 2011—U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Tennessee and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds