Borrowing costs are rising. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to a 3.47-percent average last week. Despite the uptick, rates still remain near historical lows. Click here to learn more.

Help support the NY First Home proposal to make homebuying more affordable for first-time buyers in New York. Help spread the word to your family and friends by signing and sharing the petition and liking the "REALTORS For a Better New York" Facebook page!

The NY First Home proposal would create a designated tax-free savings account specifically for the purchase of a first home in New York, allowing first-time buyers to get in their first home quicker and strengthening the overall housing market. Learn more at www.nyfirsthome.com.

The New York City Council passed several energy code upgrades last week that lawmakers hope will help significantly cut carbon emissions from city buildings. The legislation would expand the number of buildings required to participate in benchmarking, the process where building owners of a certain size report their annual energy and water use publicly. Other measures passed would require buildings of more than 50,000 square feet to sub-meter electricity and mandate owners of mid-size buildings to upgrade their lighting systems to be more energy efficient. The story can be found here.

On Oct. 12, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued proposed regulations aimed at fighting the statewide "zombie" property issue. The regulations will require lenders to inspect, secure and maintain their one-to-four family residential vacant properties and will establish an electronic statewide vacant and abandoned property registry/database maintained by DFS. The proposed regulations can be found here.

Today’s NYSAR Radio show will cover agency issues, specifically related to buyer’s agency and dual and designated agents. Tune in at 10 a.m. this morning on your PC or Mac by using the player on the NYSAR Radio page. You will need to be logged in to listen. If you have not yet created your account with the website, you will need to click on "New User" on the Member Login page and follow the prompts. Find more information here.

Did you miss the Legal Update during the 2016 Fall Business Meetings? Videos of each segment of the Legal Update presentation are now available on the Videos page in the Media Center of NYSAR.com under the 2016 Fall Business Meetings section.

Join NYSAR and Member Perks partner UBS Financial Services for a must-attend webinar on Oct. 27, at 2:30 p.m., covering tax and retirement planning, and the benefits of starting an Independent 401(k) plan. Click here to register today.

The Pricing Strategies: Mastering the CMA (PSA) course will be offered Oct. 21 at the Holiday Inn in Oneonta, NY. This course is designed to help residential real estate agents and brokers enhance their skills in providing clients property pricing guidance, creating CMAs, working with appraisers and educating clients on potential misconceptions about home values.

 

Register online today or call 800-239-4432 x219. Click here for more information.

Green Day 1: Resource Efficient Home and Green Day 2: Why All Clients are Green will be offered Oct. 24 and 25, respectively, at the Mohawk Valley Association of REALTORS in Utica, NY. Explore why consumer demand for these homes are increasing and learn how to guide your clients through the process of buying and selling green properties.

Register online today or call 800-239-4432 x219. Click here for more information.

The 64^th Annual Fall Appraisal Conference, sponsored by NYSAR’s Appraisal Committee, will be held on Oct. 27-28, 2016 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY. The committee will offer the 2016-2017 National USPAP Update, taught by Rebecca Jones, for New York State appraiser and real estate continuing education credits on the first day of the conference. On the second day of the conference, Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, Inc., will teach "Toxic Pollution Concerns and Real Property Appraisals," followed by Joe Whittington of Northeastern Appraisal with "The Facts about Wet Basements." Both courses have been submitted for New York State appraiser and real estate continuing education credits. Please follow this link for more information on the conference, and click here to go directly to the registration page.

NYSAR Member Perks partner HealthiestYou, a health and wellness delivery innovator, puts you in control of your healthcare by giving you 24/7 access to U.S. Board-certified physicians via phone, email or video who can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications. For as little as $9/month for individuals and families, you’ll have unlimited doctor consultations, prescription discounts and access to their interactive wellness platform. No consultation fees, no waiting rooms, no co-pays - and do it all from an app! Click here for more details or to enroll today. Learn more about the power of telehealth during Thursday’s HealthiestYou webinar. There’s still time to register!

TransUnion SmartMove is an easy, comprehensive and reliable web-based tenant background check offering access to a full credit report, criminal report, customized leasing recommendations and suggested deposit amount to request at lease signing. The trusted brand’s process is all online and you pay only when you use it with no set-up, minimum or annual fees. Use promo code "NYSAR123" to get $5 off today. Learn more here.

Features include: easy-to-use remote control, special Halloween sounds, powerful headlight and puffing smoke. Visit the RPAC Facebook group to place a bid or contact Derick King at dking@nysar.com or 518-463-0300 x238. Bidding will be open until the close of business tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 19.

Congratulations to the Southern Adirondack REALTORS on hosting a very successful agent’s day last week. Thank you SAR for making RPAC part of this event, where not only RPAC awareness was raised, but more than $450, too! See you all again on Dec. 9 for the RPAC Gala.

Thank you to the Elmira Corning Regional Association of REALTORS for hosting an RPAC Phone Bank last week. Congratulations on raising more than $250 in new investments and $750 in pledges. Thank you to the volunteer callers and those who invested in RPAC. Great job!