Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards.Soren Kierkegaard
They say that the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror for a reason. Looking forward is much more beneficial than looking backward. Yet, occasionally, some healthy retrospection is warranted. The journey as your chairman in 2021 has been one that I will never forget.
2021 was a year in which Texas REALTORS® largely functioned virtually as an organization. We had no idea that our 101st year of work for REALTORS® and property owners would be the start of not only a new century of the association but in many ways the start of a new era, operating as we had never done before.
And with great challenge also came great success. The following are some highlights of 2021 at Texas REALTORS®:
- HOA reform
- Option fee delivery to title companies
- Removal of discriminatory covenants
- Property tax reform and relief
- Virtual Winter Meeting
- Virtual REALTOR® Day at the Texas Capitol
- Virtual Shaping Texas Conference
- Virtual trade missions with our counterparts in Mexico and in Brazil
- Leslie Rouda Smith stepped into the role as president-elect at NAR
- Home sale prices and units sold increased almost 20% from 2020
- 53,000 members participated in virtual education
- Enhanced technology and communications efforts
- Record-breaking $5.8 million raised for TREPAC at participation of 44%.
As the year comes to a close and we reflect on the challenges and the successes of the year, it is clear that the work of Texas REALTORS® requires input from a broad-based, widespread, and diverse team of members, leaders, and staff who labor tirelessly on behalf of REALTORS® and property owners across Texas.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your chairman. I am thankful for the accomplishments of 2021 and am excited about the work that we will all do together in 2022!
To the future!