New GLVAR president to take over column

While we've certainly faced some challenges in the real estate industry, I've enjoyed serving as president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors for 2008.

Besides representing more than 14,000 local Realtors, one of the privileges of this position has been the opportunity to interact with readers of this column every other Saturday. I've been honored to answer your questions about real estate and the local housing market. I've also been happy to share some news and views with you.

Starting in two weeks, I'll turn over this space to the incoming GLVAR president and "On the House Q&A" columnist, Sue Naumann.

Sue is every bit as experienced as I am in the local real estate industry. I think you'll also find that she will be a very capable columnist.

She started her real estate career when she moved to Nevada in 1975. After earning her real estate license in 1979, she worked in the title company industry, and then as a paralegal handling real estate transactions for a large mortgage company. Sue and her husband have been actively involved in the local real estate industry since settling in Las Vegas in 1990.

In 2001, she was named one of 50 Golden Realtors by the Nevada Association of Realtors during its 50th anniversary convention. In 2006, she was named Woman of Distinction in Real Estate by the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Sue has also been very involved with the Women's Council of Realtors, serving as the local chapter president in 2003 and state chapter secretary-treasurer in 2004. In 2006, the WCR named Sue its Local Member Of The Year.

Sue donates her time to several Realtor organizations. She served as a director for our state association from 2004 through 2007, director for the national association from 2005 through 2007 and director for the GLVAR from 2003 to 2005. She served as treasurer of the GLVAR in 2006, vice president in 2007 and president-elect in 2008. She takes over as president of the GLVAR on Jan. 1.

When she's not presiding over GLVAR matters, she is the owner and broker of Tsunami Properties Inc. in Las Vegas.

Sue shares her knowledge with fellow Realtors as a faculty member for the GLVAR and as a certified trainer for NAR.

As we wrap up 2008, we're seeing local home sales soaring compared to last year, a stable inventory of homes being listed for sale and prices still declining slightly in recent months.

It's good to see that people are finally getting the message we've been talking about all year, namely that there's never been a better time to buy a home here in Southern Nevada.

I'll let Sue gaze into the crystal ball from this point on, but I can't imagine local housing prices going down much more than they already have. After all, as any home builder will tell you, homes are now selling for less than what it would cost to build that same home today.

Sue will need your feedback to make this column as informative as possible. So, please keep those questions coming by e-mailing them to ask@glvr.org.

Most of all, thanks for reading. I hope you all have a healthy, happy and more prosperous new year.

Patty Kelley is the president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and has worked in the real estate industry for more than 30 years. For more information, visit lasvegasrealtor.com.