It's looking good for 2024!

Last week, the Texas REALTORS® Budget & Finance gave preliminary approval to the 2024 Operating Budget for the association. This is the first step in the approval process as the budget must also be approved by the Executive Board (in August) and assessments (for Issues Mobilization/Political Advocacy Fund and the Legal Defense Fund) must go to the Board of Directors in September.

Everyone involved in drafting this budget deserves a round of applause. Dues dollars accounts for about 81% of annual revenue for the association. With membership projections dropping in 2024 from 156,000 this year to 150,000 in 2024, this meant that staff had to propose a budget that cut $2.4 million in spending while preserving the high quality of services and benefits to our members. And that was accomplished.

It is important for the whole team to know that our priority throughout this process was to accomplish this budgeting challenge without impacting the most value resource we have...a great staff. We are a people business. We are a relationship business. We are a talent business. Our goal going into this was not to impact the team and the association's ability to support the team, provide needed resources, and continue benefits and compensation according to the compensation structure we have in place, which is based upon competitive and current compensation data and third-party analysis.

The $2.4 million in cuts do not touch the compensation structure, staffing levels, benefits provided, HR engagement and training structures or change the level of technology we support for staff. These were off the table in our exercises to deliver a balanced budget. Please know how highly Texas REALTORS® values the team, your exceptional talent, your collaborative nature, and your unwavering commitment to prioritizing member service. These qualities enable us to consistently provide immense value to our members, every single day.

Cut did include many belt-tightening measures, including travel in many cases, but also included some changes that members will directly see. This includes a change to the production and delivery of Texas REALTOR® magazine which will be reduced from 10 editions per year to 6.