Tech-forward California Association of Realtors sets the tone for the coming year as far as what's new, discussion-worthy and actionable in technologies for Realtors at its REALTOR® EXPO 2002, which ended yesterday in Long Beach, California. Approximately 7,000 Realtors attended the show, called the largest technology trade show in California, which featured nearly 300 exhibit booths.

Highlights included Tech Tuesday, which offered a full day of hands-on technology training and educational seminars for attendees. The opening session at 10 a.m., "Technology at Work: Real Solutions in Today's Market," was moderated by C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer and featured tech-savvy REALTORS® and technology directors from California's leading firms.

According to attendees, there was a high degree of interest in the “Tech Tuesday” educational sessions. "CAR did a great job of having a wide range of topics with all sessions having standing room only," said one Realtor. "

Topics included “The Great Digital Camera Shootout”, “Hands-On Computer Training for PDA’s”. “How To Master The Selling Power of e-Mail,” and “IDX & Virtual Office Website (VOW’s): What’s the difference?,” and Stewart Title provided one-on-one hands-on training on a variety of topics.

While traffic was light at the EXPO, partially due to the lack of buzz on any new innovations, the Realtors who attended were in a buying mood, particularly Web sites and virtual tours. Stand-out vendors included Advanced Access, Realtor.com, and Myers Internet, and Visualtours.com, according to one observer, who reported that sales seemed the steadiest at those booths.

One Realtor told Realty Times that the number one topic of discussion among agents and association managers was Rapattoni's challenge to Supra - that it is working on a new product that will skip past Supra's numerous keybox patents to provide associations with more choice in keybox technologies than then currently have.

On Wednesday, a Real Estate and the Economy panel discussion featuring top economists from around the nation was moderated by C.A.R. vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young. She also presented a live broadcast of her 2003 Housing Forecast for the California residential real estate market during the EXPO's closing session.

Appleton-Young's report exhibits a lot of optimism. According to her research, the median price of a single-family home in California will hit a new record in 2003 while sales will decrease slightly compared to this year. The median California home price will increase 10.0 percent to $344,300 in 2003 compared to $313,000 this year, while sales for 2003 are projected to reach 530,900 units, falling 3.0 percent compared to 2002. Price appreciation will be fueled in part by the continuing shortage of housing across much of the state. California typically adds 220,000 to 250,000 new households each year, yet only builds about 150,000 new housing units annually, according to the report.

Home sales for California in 2002 are expected to reach 547,300 units, largely as a result of the unusually high level of sales earlier this year, and should eclipse the prior sales record of 537,830 set in 1999, says C.A.R.

Sales activity in 2002 has been spurred by the lowest mortgage rates in decades, despite the sluggish economy. Housing market activity in the Central Valley and Southern California regions remained strong this year, while the San Francisco Bay Area housing market overall has rebounded strongly from a weak market in 2001.

"California weathered the economic slowdown better than the nation over the past 18 months, and is expected to show faster job growth than the nation as a whole in 2003," explains Appleton-Young. "The performance of the San Francisco Bay Area economy will be tied to the expected rebound in the technology sector. Southern California and the Central Valley, both of which weathered the economic slowdown with minimal job losses, should show solid gains in economic activity in 2003."

In a related report, C.A.R. found that the percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home has decreased by two percentage points in August compared to a year ago. The August 2002 Housing Affordability Index (HAI) stood at 28 percent, down two points from a revised 30 percent in August 2001. The August HAI was unchanged from July 2002, when it also was 28 percent.

Published: October 11, 2002

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