I'm at the mid-year convention for the National Association of REALTORS this week. So, if you've wondered about the lack of blog posts, that's why!

As I've mentioned before I always learn new things that benefit my business, my clients and at this week's conference in particular, my local REALTOR association. And that has the potential to make my peers better at what they do as well, which will mean that they reflect better on this profession.

It's also a chance to take the pulse of what's going on in the housing market around the state and around the country. It's a good chance to test my assumptions about the current market conditions against what other people are seeing and reading and experiencing. The information I get from other REALTORS will inform the decisions I make in my business, the counsel I give my clients and also what you see here on the blog.

One of the things that saddens me is the low representation of agents from our area. This conference is in DC. There is no registration fee. There are so many learning opportunities I could never get to them all. And both wireless connectivity and business centers are available to help you stay connected with your business. And, yet, I know of only one other agent here from my association. (Kudos to Karen Ingram!) Where are they all and why are none of them here? How hard is it to come in to DC for a day (or heck, even part of a day) from Warrenton or Culpeper? I'm always disappointed by the turn out here and that remain true this year.

That's all from DC for now. You'll be seeing posts over the next week or two about some of the topics we covered here and some of the new developments and issues I got the chance to discuss.

If you're an agent and you're here, I'd love to hear about what you loved (or didn't) about this conference!