If you're planning on attending the Realtors Convention & Expo in San Francisco this November, you might want to register and make your reservations early.

"Realtors love to come to San Francisco," says NAR spokesperson Steve Cook. "In 2000, the San Francisco convention had a record attendance of about 23,000. We're expecting to break that record."

Editor's note: The NAR includes all registrations in its attendance counts, including exhibitors. In San Francisco 2000, 23,695 total people registered. Taking exhibitors out of the equation, there were 18,293 attendees.

In 2001, the NAR convention was held in Chicago only a month after the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Realtors still turned out in near record numbers - 16,145. Counting exhibitors, attendance was 20,318.

"It was really inspiring," says Susan Gourley, managing director of the convention group for the NAR. "There was a Realtor from Maine who wanted to come, but she was afraid to fly, so her whole office decided to rent a bus and drive down. They did it again the next year for the New Orleans convention."

But continuing terrorist threats and a dull economy kept convention attendance flat in New Orleans in 2002, with a slight increase to 16,500 attendees and including exhibitors, 20,169 total.

But things are starting to look up, giving the NAR a cautious optimism that the convention in 2003 could break records again. Positive factors include:

Record NAR membership - According to the latest membership data, NAR now boasts 907,738 Realtors, breaking last year's record of 876,195 members. NAR's previous record was in 1989, with 822,935 members.

More interest from new members - Gourley says that information from the NRDS system (NAR's member database) shows that many new members are "second-career people." They know the value of conferences, that conferences are the best way to get up to speed on trends and help you increase your business.

Record sales nationally - The NAR has steadily upgraded forecasts all year. On June 3rd, the NAR predicted 5.59 million existing-home sales in 2003, up 0.5 percent from the record of 5.57 million sales last year.

An improving economy - Home sales continue to bolster the national economy, but there are other bright spots, too. Despite the highest jobless rate since 1994, the rate of unemployment shows signs of slowing. While 17,000 jobs were lost in May, the expected job loss was closer to 46,000. Consumer sentiment is softening, all factors in encouraging a stock market rally, at least temporarily, lifting the tech-heavy NASD and pushing the DJIA over the 9000 mark.

The irresistible lure of San Francisco - According to Gourley, the total experience is important to attendees, and location is an important part of that.

"They want to have fun and enjoy themselves, and if they have friends and want to take a vacation before or after the meeting, there is plenty to do in San Francisco," says Gourley. "There isn't one single reason why people attend. They come for the programs, the educational opportunities, the location. A lot depends on the economy and how well business is doing. Even who else is going is a factor. We don't discount any factor."

Preregistration numbers look good

According to Gourley, an early peek at preregistration numbers for comparable time periods indicates a record attendance.

"We have 3,700 people registered already and we just opened on May 22," says Gourley. "Right now we are about 200 ahead of San Francisco in 2000, and 1000 ahead of New Orleans."

Does she care to predict a record? "I would say "YEAH!" if we had 25,000 attend," laughs Gourley

Reasons to preregister early

Whether the convention posts a record or not, preregistration rates indicate that there may be a record run on hotels and air fares. The main hotel, The San Francisco Marriott isn't giving the NAR a break on general attendee rates this time, either. If you don't get a hotel registration and air fare through the discounts the NAR has been able to get for you, you can always try www.hotels.com and www.hotwire.com for the latest deals.

And if you're planning on touring Napa Valley, hotels are filling up there, too, according to Cheryl Roepke, corporate travel agent for Triad Travel in Dallas. "Some hotels are sold out for that weekend," she says.

Advises Gourley, "It is cheaper and easier to register early."