RAGFL Housing Summit Draws Largest Crowd to Date
Key Event Brings Members Valuable, Real Time Information

You asked for it, and we brought it to you. RAGFL once again put together an all-star panel of national, state and local housing experts to discuss what the real estate market is really going to look like in 2010 at our recent RAGFL Housing Summit on Thursday, January 28th.

Moderated by RAGFL CEO Richard W. Barkett, Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish kicked off the program by discussing the fate of our property values and taxes. Always an informative session, she covered key topics such as: the new reduction for Chinese Drywall, how to dispute a tax bill and the short & long term outlooks for my property value. Then HUD's Miami Field Office Director Armando Fana got the audience up-to-date with the recent regulatory changes and new guidelines regarding Good Faith Estimates and HUD 1 Settlement Statements among other issues.

After a quick break, State Rep Ellyn Bogdanoff, House Minority Leader Franklin Sands & Florida Realtors® VP of Public Policy John Sebree engaged in a healthy discussion about key real estate related issues such as that will likely dominate the 2010 Legislative Session such as the caps on Housing Trust Funds, the state’s budget deficit and Amendment 4.

The event concluded with Keynote Speaker Jed Smith, NAR’s Chief Economist for Quantitative Research gave us a glimpse into the future of the real estate market - beyond the numbers. While Jed provided favored market statistics, he also told participants what we can really expect in 2010…how other factors will affect our real estate market such as: landlocked retirees, government intervention and fluctuating interest rates.

We thank everyone who attended this great event including our key speakers. We’d also like to thank our generous sponsors such as: Roberto & Associates Title Agency & Closing Services; Home Team Inspection Services; Promotional Breezes; Two Men and a Truck; First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation; Citibank; Coastal Title Residential & Commercial Title Services; Safeguard Security International and the National Association of Realtors®.

You can view video coverage of the entire event by going to our RAGFL Channel on You Tube at www.youtube.com/ragfl

Presentations and Resources

Talking Sense To People (NAR’s Jed Smith)

Information for a Competitive Edge (NAR)

HUD/FHA Updates (HUD’s Armando Fana)

Amendment 4 Overview (FAR)

2010 Legislative Priorities (FAR)