NEWS BRIEFS
NATIONAL UPDATES
search team and provide house hunters with key insights about the economy, housing trends and public policy. Prior to joining Trulia in 2014, McLaughlin was an assistant professor of urban and regional planning and director of the Real Estate Development program at San Jose State University. He also has worked as an assistant professor in urban and regional planning at the University of South Australia. MODEST INCREASE EXPECTED IN EXISTING-HOME SALES NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is predict- ing that existing-home sales will expand at a more moderate pace in 2016, after one of the housing market’s strongest in nearly a decade last year. Yun pointed to pent-up demand, sustained job growth and improving inventory conditions as reasons for an expected gain (from 2015) in new and existing-home sales. But he said that rising mortgage rates, home prices that are still outpacing wages and shaky global economic conditions will likely hold back a stronger pace of sales.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS RICK SHARGA has been promoted to chief marketing officer at TEN-X , formerly known as Auction.com. He will oversee the company’s marketing, branding and corporate communications efforts. Sharga previously was executive vice president at Auction.com. Prior to joining the company in 2013, Sharga worked for Carrington Holding Compa- ny and RealtyTrac. STEPHEN VLASAK has been promoted to partner in the alternative investment practice at accounting firm RICHEY MAY & CO. LLP . In addition to a focus on business development, Vlasak is involved on the audit side of the alternative investments practice and has more than 17 years of audit experience within the commercial and financial service industries. He advises clients on initial organizational structure, audit processes, the management of operational matters and regulatory needs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
MARCH 10-11 Crowdfunding & Marketplace Lending Forum for Real Estate (East) New York www.imn.org
MARCH 29-30 Real Estate Investors Summit
Miami Beach, Fla. www.opalgroup.net
APRIL 5-6 Real Estate Private Equity Forum: Land & Homebuilding Sponsored by IMN Miami, Fla. www.imn.org
APRIL 11-13 NARPM 2016 Broker/Owner Retreat Las Vegas www.narpm.org/conferences/
APRIL 13 REIT Symposium Sponsored by NYU Schack New York www.scps.nyu.edu
ANNA MILLS has been elected 2016 president of the NATION- AL REAL ESTATE INVESTORS
“This year the housing market may only squeak out 1 to 3 percent growth in sales because of slower economic expansion and rising mortgage rates," Yun said in a video highlighting his predictions for 2016. The video can be accessed at NAR’s
ASSOCIATION , the orga- nization has announced. Mills, currently president of the Toledo REIA, has been a Realtor in Ohio
APRIL 17-19 Real Estate Lending Conference Sponsored by ABA San Antonio www.aba.com
and Michigan for more than three decades. She also was NREIA’s president in 2002, is a past president of Ohio Real Estate Investors Association and is co-author of “The Landlord Tenant Handbook.” Housing economist RALPH MC- LAUGHLIN has been promoted to chief economist at TRULIA , where he will lead the company’s housing economics re-
APRIL 19-21 Urban Land Institute 2016
website, www.realtor.org. Yun continued: “Furthermore, the continued rise in home prices will occur due to the fact that we will again encoun- ter housing shortages in many markets because of the cumulative effect of homebuilders underproducing for multiple years. Once the spring buying season be- gins, we'll begin to feel that again.” •
Spring Meeting Philadelphia, Pa. www.uli.org/events
APRIL 22-23 Think Realty Expo Long Beach, Calif. www.reiexpo.com
10 | think realty magazine | mar :: apr 2016
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