The Greater McAllen Association of Realtors has nearly 1,800 members and as of Jan. 1, 2024, it will have a new president.
Anita Moon will take the leadership spot at the beginning of a new year and be the first woman president of the association in 10 years. She is a Texas Tech University graduate who started her career in a management position at a Holiday Inn in McAllen. It’s where she met Diana Weisser, who would become a good friend and mentor in the business world.
Moon would later work for state Sen. Carlos Truan in Corpus Christi and serve on the school board of a nearby community. Her parents, Willard and Ana Maria, had moved to McAllen in the early 1990s to open a new business. Moon’s good friend, Weisser, had done the same and urged Moon to move to McAllen.
“She told me, ‘You’re a smart person. Get your real-estate license. I’ll mentor you,’” Moon said of Weisser.
Making The Move
In 2011, Moon and her children made the move to McAllen. She earned her real estate license in 2012 and worked with Weisser at Keller Williams. The best friends decided to move to RE/MAX 1st Choice in 2017. Two years later, the broker/owner of RE/MAX 1st Choice, Joan Massie, called Moon to her office.
“She said, ‘I’m so tired’ and suggested I buy the franchise,” Moon said.
Moon’s father urged her to make the acquisition. She bought the franchise and thought of her friend and mentor, Weisser, who had died of cancer a few years prior. Moon and her business partner and broker, Jonathan Lindley, changed the name of the franchise to RE/MAX Platinum. They officially took ownership on Sept. 1, 2019.
A New Chapter
The RE/MAX offices are now on the second floor of North Park Village, a new commercial development on Auburn Avenue and 10th Street in McAllen. Moon prominently displays a picture of Weisser in her office. Moon and Lindley acquired the RE/MAX franchise in Weslaco early this year.
“We can sell anywhere in the state, but our company prefers that we have geographic competency,” Moon said. “We focus on residential and commercial properties, from the ranches in Rio Grande City to the condos on South Padre Island.”
Moon says networking and education will be among her priorities when she takes the presidency of the Realtors board. She encourages members to travel across the state and the country to continue learning about their field.
“At a recent conference in Austin, we learned the Rio Grande Valley is the fourth fastest-growing area in the state,” Moon said.
An Area Moving Forward
SmartAsset.com, a financial services website, recently ranked 185 metro areas in the United States to determine the top cities for first-time homebuyers. Researchers used four metrics: affordability, growth potential, competition and demographics. McAllen ranked number three and Brownsville rated at number eight.
“I see the Valley continuing to grow for the next 10 to 20 years,” Moon said. “Because of our cost of living, companies are moving here. Education, medical facilities and other industries are still growing here.”
The Texas Quarterly Housing Report for Second Quarter 2023 confirms the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area enjoys a robust housing market. The median price of a home is $239,900, an increase of 6.6 percent as compared to the same quarter last year.
“We are still in a seller’s market,” Moon said. “It becomes a buyer’s market when a home is on the market for more than four months.”
Homes in the McAllen MSA are on the market for an average of 67 days. Moon is looking forward to 2024 for her business and in leading the local Realtors Association.
