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The housing market is expected to remain stable in the months ahead. Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said he isn’t looking for any notable changes in sales activity. "Mortgage disruptions will hold back sales over the short term, but long-term fundamentals are favorable. A modest upturn is projected for existing-home sales toward the end of the year, with broader improvement to include the new-home market by the middle of 2008." Existing-home sales are forecast at 6.04 million in 2007 and 6.38 million next year, below the 6.48 million recorded in 2006. "More buyers, and cutbacks in new construction, will eventually draw down the inventory levels and support future price appreciation, but general gains will be modest next year. Serious buyers today have a long-term view of housing as an investment – speculators have left the market." View forecast table>
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The 5 percent gain in NAR's Pending Home Sales Index in June is the largest monthly increase in three years. This forward-looking indicator suggests that the market will stabilize in the months ahead. The June reading of 102.4 was 8.4 percent lower than a year ago. “It is too early to say if home sales have already passed bottom,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s senior economist, said. “Still, major declines in home sales are likely to have occurred already and further declines, if any, are likely to be modest given the accumulating pent-up demand. Read more>
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Get up-to-date market statistics on home sales, housing starts, retail sales, mortgage rates, economic growth and more -- all in one place. Check out the Economic Indicator page on Realtor.org for a snapshot of the most recent market and housing statistics. Each indicator includes a one-page summary for downloading. Look like a whiz kid in your next listing presentation! Check them out>
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In the second quarter, 97 out of 149 metropolitan statistical areas surveyed by NAR showed year-over-year increases in median existing single-family home prices, including nine areas with double-digit annual gains. The largest price increase was in the Salt Lake City area, where the median price of $233,100 rose 21.9 percent from a year ago. Next was Binghamton, N.Y., at $111,200, up 19.8 percent from the second quarter of 2006, followed by Salem, Ore., where the price increased 16.7 percent to $227,900. Median second-quarter metro area single-family home prices ranged from a very affordable $71,700 in Elmira, N.Y., to 12 times that amount in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area of California where the median price was $865,000. The best total sales performance was in Wyoming, where existing-home sales rose 10.8 percent from the second quarter of 2006. Read more>
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NAR’s 2007 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences reveals what buyers really want and how much they'd pay to get it. While central air conditioning, master bedrooms on the main level, walk-in closets and hardwood floors remain important to home buyers, over-sized garages are the new big thing. While just 6 percent of buyers said they’d pay more for an over-sized garage in the 2004 survey, this figure jumped up to 56 percent in 2007. Read more>
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NAR's monthly Real Estate Practitioners Survey (REPS) just got a face-lift and a new name: The REALTORS® Confidence Index. The latest index shows that practitioners perceive the market to be weaker than last year and are not expecting great improvements anytime soon. This is basically unchanged from the previous month’s index. Midwesterners are slightly more optimistic than practitioners in other regions, while Northeasterners are the most pessimistic. Be a part of this important survey to help give an accurate indication of market expectations. It's easy. We'll send you an e-mail once a month with five brief questions about your market expectations. We'll also include a link to results of the latest survey. Read more>
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Nearly one in five REALTORS® has sold a home to an international client in the past year according to NAR’s 2007 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. This is the most comprehensive research NAR has ever conducted to explore the characteristics of second-home purchases in the United States made by international clients. Last year, most international home buyers purchased single-family homes or townhomes, and like most domestic home buyers, they financed their purchase. However, they showed stronger preferences for condos/apartments when compared to U.S. buyers. Twenty-eight percent of foreign buyers bought their houses with cash, compared to 8 percent of U.S. buyers. Read more>
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It should come as no surprise that the share of sub-prime Adjustable Rate Mortgages in delinquency surged in every region of the country during the first quarter of 2007. These troubling numbers mean struggling consumers who, in many cases, are trying to keep their homes from going into foreclosure. NAR’s consumer mortgage education brochure --“Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home” -- can help The brochure alerts consumers that they can call a nationwide, toll-free assistance number—888-995-HOPE—to speak with a counselor, day or night, to help them get back on track financially. Learn more -- Download FREE brochure
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Report compiled by NAR's Research Division.
Questions about this report? Contact Research at lGiovaniello@realtors.org. |
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