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2021 General Election Results

Democrats in New York City swept all city-wide elections with Eric Adams elected to be the next mayor, Brad Lander won  his race for city comptroller and Jumaane Williams won  re-election to public advocate. The New York City Council will continue to hold a large Democratic majority with Republicans possibly flipping up to four seats in races still too close to call. Democrats currently hold a 48-3 majority in the City Council.

Outside of New York City, Republicans had more success, winning races for Nassau County Executive, Nassau County District Attorney, and Suffolk County District Attorney.

A summary of more of these races and more competitive races across the state can be found here.

Real Estate and Rental Scam Warning

The New York State Department of State and the Division of Consumer Protection alerted consumers about real estate and rental scams, in which scammers work to steal prospective tenants’ money when they are looking to rent a home or an apartment. Rental scams are executed by criminals in a variety of ways, but the goal is the same: bilk potential tenants out of as much money as possible. Learn more!

Home sales slow as prices continue to soar in New York State

Albany, NY – October 21, 2021 – The median price of homes has continued to climb for 17 consecutive months in year-over-year comparisons, while sales declined in September for the first time since August of 2020, according to the housing report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS®.

Median sales prices escalated to $378,000 in September. This represents an 18.5 percent increase from the $319,000 price in September 2020. The New York market has seen 17 consecutive months of median sales increases in year-over-year comparisons.

Closed sales are down for the first time in 13 months, falling 4.6 percent from 13,907 sales last September to 13,274 units last month. Pending sales dropped from 15,607 homes to just 13,588 units – a drop of 12.9 percent. New listings of homes also fell, decreasing from 21,155 sales in September 2020 to 16,563 last month. This marks a 21.7 decrease in month-over-month comparisons.

Inventory of homes for sale has fallen for 23 consecutive months in year-over-year comparisons. In September 2020, there were 54,863 homes for sale compared to just 42,849 in September 2021 – a 21.9 percent decrease.

Mortgage interest rates rose slightly in September. According to Freddie Mac, the monthly average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in September inched up to 2.90 percent.

Data and analysis compiled for the New York State Association of REALTORS® by Showing Time Inc.

NY HERO Act FAQ’s

On September 6, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease under the New York HERO Act. This designation requires all employers to implement workplace safety plans.

The FAQs being provided by NYSAR are based upon information provided by the New York State Department of Labor and opinion of outside counsel for complying with the HERO Act.  NYSAR’s role is to provide information in the best interest of all of our members in every part of New York, and where specific guidance is not provided, we offer the narrowest possible interpretation so as not to expose members to potential liability, as well as preventing the spread of COVID-19.

You can find these FAQ’s on NYSAR.com by clicking here.

State of Emergency extended until further notice. Cold Calling is still prohibited.

Governor Kathy Hochul has extended all prior executive orders, including the current gun violence State of Emergency, until further notice.  As a result of being under a State of Emergency, licensees are still prohibited from making any cold calls.

Real estate licensees may not make any unsolicited phone calls to a member of the public during a State of Emergency. General Business Law §399-z(5)(a) states “It shall be unlawful for any telemarketer doing business in this state to knowingly make an unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any person in a county, city, town or village under a declared state of emergency or disaster emergency as described in sections twenty-four or twenty-eight of the executive law.” All other types of marketing such as mailers, billboards, social media, internet etc., are permitted. You may call a FSBO if you have an identifiable purchaser interested in the property.  You are prohibited from calling the FSBO to solicit the listing.  You may still perform business to business calls so long as you are calling the number provided as the business number.

2021 NYSAR Safety Presentation – “Prospect or Predator” available for viewing

The 2021 Mid-Winter and Fall Business Meetings Safety Presentation with President David Legaz entitled, “Prospect or Predator,” is available for viewing by clicking here. This is the recording from the Mid-Winter Business Meetings that was just presented again at the Young Professionals Network meeting during the Fall Business Meetings on October 4.  For more REALTOR® Safety information including the monthly Safety Minute and infographics, visit NYSAR’s dedicated REALTOR® Safety webpage by clicking here.

 

NYSAR Instructor Training Institute (ITI) Offered in October

NYSAR is offering a second session of the Instructor Training Institute (ITI) in 2021. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to network and learn from fellow real estate trainers from all over NYS. Class will be held via Zoom from October 12-14 from 9am-5pm. Participation in all 3 days is required. There is still time to register by clicking here ITI August Session

Turning Stone Cancelled, Fall Business Meetings to go All-Virtual

Out of an abundance of caution for our member’s safety, NYSAR has cancelled the in-person portion of the Fall Business Meetings at Turning Stone. The remaining schedule for the Fall Business Meetings will go virtually on according to schedule. You can find the schedule on Meeting Planner and on NYSAR.com. Visit our Fall Business Meetings page by clicking here.

Donate to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF)

The REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF) is a charitable organization dedicated to providing housing-related assistance to victims of disasters. Created as a REALTOR®-driven response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, RRF continues to restore and rebuild communities effected by disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes thanks to the generosity of individual REALTORS®, REALTOR® Associations, and affiliated organizations. Together, through the RRF, our community has helped over 17,000 families remain in their homes.

If you are able to donate and support this tremendous organization, click here for more details.

COVID-19 designated as an Airborne Infectious Disease Under New York State’s Hero Act

Governor Kathy Hochul  announced that COVID-19 has been designated by the NYS Department of Health (DOH) as an airborne infectious disease under New York State’s Hero Act. This designation means that all employers need to implement their workplace safety plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as required by the New York Hero Act. This designation will remain in effect until September 30, 2021, at which point the Department of Health will review the level of transmission of COVID-19 in New York State and determine whether to continue this designation.

The New York HERO Act was implemented on May 5, 2021 and requires employers in New York to adopt extensive new workplace health and safety protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The HERO Act’s purpose is to ensure that businesses are prepared with protocols and resources to protect their employees and the public from the spread of airborne infectious diseases, like the COVID Delta variant.

Under the HERO Act, the DOL, in consultation with the DOH, has developed a new Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard, a Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan, and various industry-specific model plans for the prevention of airborne infectious disease. Additional information and industry-specific templates for employers are available on the DOL’s website, here.

Below are a few of the steps required of employers by the NY Hero Act:

  • Review your company’s worksite’s infectious disease exposure prevention plan to ensure that it incorporates all current information, guidance and requirements;
  • Finalize and activate your infectious disease worksite exposure prevention plan;
  • Post the plan prominently at the worksite and provide a verbal review of the plan to employees;
  • Provide each employee with a copy of the infectious disease exposure prevention plan.

While the designation remains in effect, each employer shall ensure that the plan is followed by:

  • Assigning enforcement responsibilities to one or more supervisory employees;
  • Monitoring and maintaining exposure controls; and
  • Regularly checking for updated information from the New York State Department of Health and CDC, and updating the plan as necessary.

NYSAR will continue to monitor any further information or guidance provided by NYS and will provide updates when available.

To learn more about the NY Hero Act, click here.

Eviction Moratorium Extended until January 15, 2022

On September 1, the State Legislature voted to approve a bill (S.50001/A.40001) to extend the state’s residential and commercial eviction moratorium until January 15, 2022. The moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners and small commercial property owners that have experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic was also extended until January 15, 2022. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law.

The new law now allows landlords the ability to file an affidavit challenging in court a tenant’s hardship declaration if the landlord believes that hardship does not actually exist, and that tenants should be ineligible for eviction protections. If the tenant’s declaration of hardship is found invalid, a landlord would be able to move ahead with an eviction proceeding.

The law affirms the ability of a landlord to begin an eviction proceeding, regardless of the tenant’s submission of a hardship declaration, in cases where the tenant is intentionally doing harm to the property or engaging in behavior that causes a safety hazard to others. Where warrants for eviction were filed before March 7, 2020, the eviction continues to be stayed until the courts hold a status conference with all parties.

Additional rental assistance funding
The Legislature also approved $250 million in supplemental funding for tenants and landlords that did not qualify for the original ERAP funds. This supplemental funding is in addition to the $2 billion in federal and state funding dedicated to the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

  • $125 million is designated to assist tenants with household incomes under 120% of the area median income (AMI). Households with incomes under 100% of the AMI will be prioritized for the first 45 days.
  • $125 million is designated for landlords with tenants who have not cooperated in applying for ERAP funds or have vacated the unit while owing arrears. Small landlords with 20 units or fewer will be prioritized for the first 45 days.
  • The Legislature also approved an additional $25 million in funding to go toward providing legal services and attorney fees to tenants related to eviction proceedings.

It is expected that the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) will create a new process for landlords to apply for this supplemental funding. More information should be posted on the state’s website, here.

September is REALTOR® Safety Month

September is REALTOR® Safety Month and all month, NYSAR will have tips and information on how to be safe on the job. In addition to 2021 President David Legaz’s REALTOR® Safety Minute on September 20, NYSAR will have more information across our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all month long – so check back often! You can also utilize our REALTOR® Safety page on nysar.com for information, videos, infographics and more!