New GLVAR president takes reins

Patty Kelley of Kelley and Associates Real Estate has never been one to shy away from taking on new challenges.

Since relocating to Nevada from California in the 1980s, the veteran of more than 30 years in real estate has been active in and taken on numerous committee and leadership positions in the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, Nevada Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors and Women's Council of Realtors.

Kelley added the title of 2008 GLVAR president to her resumé last night when she accepted the volunteer position during the association's annual installation gala at the Bellagio casino resort. She replaced Devin Reiss.

Changing perceptions

One of the challenges the association will face in 2008 is improving public confidence in Las Vegas' current real-estate market. Throughout 2007, statistics and reports have surfaced that depict a tightening market with a slowdown of home sales, a decrease in home prices and a rise in foreclosures in comparison to the past few years.

Despite such reports, Kelley said she's optimistic about the future of real estate in the Las Vegas Valley and is ready to take on the challenge of being president of GLVAR, which has nearly 16,000 members, making it the third-largest Realtor association in the country.

She counters such reports by explaining that the current real estate market is "readjusting" from the record home sales in 2003 and 2004 when median home prices doubled.

"We should look at the real-estate market in terms of the last five years. The fact is that people who bought real estate in Las Vegas five years ago are still seeing a great appreciation in their homes," she said.

"Real estate is local and we should look at it on a local level, not a national level. Las Vegas is still a great place to live and to buy a home. We still have 6,000 to 7,000 people moving here every month. Where are they going to live?"

To help ease consumer concerns, Kelley said the GLVAR will launch a public-information campaign with the theme, "Now is the time to buy a home."

"Las Vegas has a strong and diversified economy and we remain one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. We will concentrate on re-enforcing our message to consumers that real estate is still your best long-term investment," she said.

"The association will continue to maximize its resources and do whatever it takes to promote the use of a Realtor in the home-buying process. It is our belief and our commitment that in order to best serve the consumer, Realtors must remain the center of the real estate transaction," Kelley said.

Supportive family, friends

Confident in Kelley's ability to lead GLVAR is her friend and fellow Realtor, Myrna Kingham of the Tower Realty Group, who is the 2007 president of the Nevada Association of Realtors.

"Patty has been heavily involved with the association for years, and I think she will make a great president," Kingham said. "She is very levelheaded, a good business person.

"She's very good at delegating and she works very well with other people. She is a real people person. I am looking forward to working with her in the GLVAR and with the state association."

Kelley acknowledged she will have plenty of support guiding GLVAR through whatever 2008 might bring.

"Even though I am going to serve as the president of the GLVAR, it is truly a team effort. We have a great group of members who are volunteering to serve as directors and on many committees," Kelley said. "I'm looking forward to giving back to a business and association that has been good to me throughout the years."

Min Melvin of Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace, who joined the GLVAR at the same time as Kelley, concurs that her friend is ready for the challenge.

"Patty is well-spoken. She is a forward thinker and very much believes in using the Internet in communications. She won't have an old-fashioned approach as president," said Melvin, who has also worked with her in leadership roles with the Women's Council of Realtors.

"I believe that she is open-minded and some of the things that she has planned on doing will be a benefit to the members," Melvin said.

Kelley also has the support of her family, in whom she takes great pride. The proud mother of three sons and grandmother of three can seek advice from her husband Keith, a Realtor who has also been heavily involved in local, state and national realty associations and served as GLVAR president in 1997.