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On May 28th at 10am, Research will be holding a Webinar featuring Lawrence Yun. NAR's Chief Economist will discuss current market trends and conditions, as well as highlight the many useful products and services created by the Research division to aid our members in their daily operations.
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View Pending Home Sales Index >
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Pending home sales rose with many first-time buyers taking advantage of historically good housing affordability conditions, according to the latest survey. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, increased 3.2 percent to 84.6 from a level of 82.0 in February, and is 1.1 percent higher than March 2008 when it was 83.7. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum. “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a downpayment,” he said. “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”
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View the video >
View Pending Home Sales Index >
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First-time home buyers responding to improved affordability conditions, and lower prices of foreclosures and short sales, impacted metropolitan area median home prices in the first quarter, while existing-home sales remained sluggish in many parts of the country, according to the latest survey . With first-time buyers accounting for half of all purchases during the first quarter, 134 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas1 reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the first quarter of 2008, while 18 metros had price gains. Many buyers sought deeply discounted distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – which accounted for nearly half of transactions in the first quarter and weighed down median home prices in most markets.
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View the data >
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Limited availability and unusually high interest rates in the jumbo loan market are adversely affecting the rest of the housing market, according to the latest report. This and other findings on the jumbo market are detailed in the Impact of the Jumbo Mortgage Credit Crunch paper released at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo earlier this month. The ongoing credit crunch in the jumbo mortgage market has stalled home sales of high-priced homes, despite some recovery taking place in some mid- and low-priced home markets. The national share of home sales above $750,000 has fallen from 4.4 percent in 2007 to approximately 2.3 percent in 2009, and the months’ supply of inventory has risen from 18.7 months to 41.1 months during that same period.
Read the release >
View the paper >
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The Member Profile for 2009 has been released! In this profile, the economic, demographic, education, tenure, agency relationship and compensation of REALTORS® are broken down into easy-to-read graphs and tables. In addition, this report takes an in-depth look at office affiliation, type of firm, as well as the extent of Internet use and other technology. This unique tool provides the answers in a user-friendly format, designed to allow easy comparisons with previous studies.
Download the profile for free >
Order the profile at cost >
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The Real Estate Summit at the 2009 Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo had some exciting news for Realtors®: HUD Secretary Donovan announced that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment. Not only was Secretary Donovan one of the keynote speakers, but other prestigious names were also in attendance: Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board; Sheila Bair, Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Dr. Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; Maria Kong, President, National Association of Real Estate Brokers; Eric Belsky, Executive Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University; and Sandra Block, Personal Finance Reporter at USA Today, among many others.
View the Summit special announcement page >
Read the release >
View the videos >
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Now you don’t have to wonder what updates you missed – all of Lawrence’s Forum PowerPoint presentations are available for members to view, including his commercial, residential and real estate services presentations. You’ll also find some of the most requested presentations recently given by NAR experts and guest speakers. This list is updated as new presentations become available, so be sure to visit often.
View presentations >
View the videos >
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The National Association of Realtors® has been surveying members to find out about their use of technology like websites and blogs for several years. Now, Research, too, has its very own Facebook group. Research's Facebook page is not only a place for our members to receive insight into our latest surveys, commentaries and reports, but also an avenue for you to make your thoughts known to us and your fellow Realtors®. There may be certain special trends in the marketplace that Research may be unaware of - such as a significant rise in foot traffic at open houses or continuing long delays in getting short sales to close. We'd like this to be an open forum for discussion rather than a one-sided monologue.
Find Research on Facebook >
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Report compiled by NAR's Research Division.
Questions about this report? Contact Research at mdunn@realtors.org. |
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