FRONT LINES: Fast Takes

Real estate broker-owners aren’t personally liable for fair housing violations committed by their associates, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in a closely watched case. The high court, in the case Meyer v. Holley, reversed a decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California. In the case, a racially mixed couple sought to make the owner of Triad, REALTORS^®, responsible for the actions of a company associate who had allegedly made disparaging remarks about the couple. The decision is in accord with NAR’s position, outlined in a friend-of-the-court brief that the association submitted in the case. For more information, click here.

The consensus among experts speaking at a recent Summit on the U.S. Real Estate Market is, there’s no housing bubble, because there’s no national real estate market. The summit took place in Los Angeles in late January and was hosted by Inman News Features. Conference speaker Michael Sklarz, chief valuation officer for Fidelity National Information Solutions, analyzed hundreds of markets and said no metro area met his definition of a bubble: 150 percent price growth over five years. However, Sklarz said he did see such appreciation in about 10 submarkets (see report at www.fnis.com). One reason for the relative price stability nationwide? Unlike stocks, homes have an intrinsic value, said speaker Robert Moles, president and CEO of Cendant Corp.’s Real Estate Franchise Group. That is, homes aren’t just an investment, they’re our shelter.

April—Fair Housing Month—is an apropos time to teach associates to comply with federal Fair Housing Act requirements and to work successfully with clients and customers from different cultures. For the entire month of April, NAR will waive the $150 sponsorship fee to host its “At Home with Diversity” course. For more information, click here.

Are you a good neighbor? Nominations are open for the fourth annual REALTOR® Magazine Good Neighbor Awards. Five winners each receive a grant of $7,500 for their community cause and five honorable mentions each receive a grant of $1,500 for their community cause. The program recognizes REALTORS^® whose commitment to service has helped make their community a better place to live. For more information, click here.

FACTIOD: 75,000

That’s the number of homes in 2002 mitigated for radon, the gas that can occur naturally in the basement of homes and is purported to cause cancer, says the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (www.aarst.org). The number’s a drop in the bucket compared with the 10 million U.S. homes estimated to have radon concentrations beyond the safety standard recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, AARST says.