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!