RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers recognition celebrates industry professionals who are making strides in the real estate space through their positive contributions. In addition, each year, RISMedia honors a select group of Newsmakers by inducting them into the Newsmakers Hall of Fame, celebrating distinguished icons in the industry for their long-standing service.
Join us in recognizing this week’s featured 2020 Hall of Fame inductee:
Bob Hale
President & CEO,
Houston Association of REALTORS®
Bob Hale has been president and CEO of the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) since 1988. Under his leadership, HAR has grown to become the largest trade association in Houston and the second-largest local REALTOR® association in the country, with more than 40,000 members. Furthermore, Hale’s vision and drive have made HAR.com a household brand in the greater Houston area and the most frequently visited website for Houston real estate. In the top 100 markets across the country, Zillow is the No. 1 real estate site in 99 of them, with the exception of Houston due to the success of HAR.com with Houston-area consumers.
Building upon taking HAR.com statewide a few years ago and powering the real estate search for the local newspapers in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and other cities in Texas, HAR recently partnered with the North Texas Real Estate Information Service (NTREIS) to provide the HAR.com Pro App to all 40,000 NTREIS subscribers. That roughly doubles the REALTOR® user base and strengthens the relationship between the North Texas and Houston MLSs.
“In this time of significant change in the real estate industry, it is our job to provide tools and services to make the lives of our 40,000 members easier,” says Hale. “Whether that means we partner with other REALTOR® associations, MLSs and leading vendors, or that we develop our own in-house technology, we need to keep the REALTOR® at the forefront of the transaction and make the home-buying, home-selling or leasing process as easy as possible for their clients.”
Hale first joined HAR in 1973 as legal and legislative counsel. Throughout his career at HAR, he has been recognized in many ways, including as a Most Admired CEO Award honoree by the Houston Business Journal, as the recipient of RISMedia’s “On the Shoulders of Giants” Award, sponsored by RE/MAX, and with “Bob Hale Day,” proclaimed by Houston Mayor Bill White in 2008.
For more from the 2020 Real Estate Newsmakers, go to RISMedia.com/2020-Newsmakers or RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. For consideration for the 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers, please email nominations to maria@rismedia.com.
