 Extending the Good News for Home BuyersThe first-time home buyer tax credit, originally scheduled to expire on November 30th, has been extended - and expanded. That is indeed good news for for first-time buyers, as well as repeat buyers, many of whom will be able to take advantage of the program. In his commentary this month, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun tells us that the tax credit, continuing low mortgage rates and high affordability will help lift home sales activity into next year. Read more > |
The Great Profile: 2009 Edition
The new 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was just released, and shows that first-time buyers accounted for 47 percent of home purchasers between July of 2008 and June of 2009. That's the largest share of first-time buyers in more than 18 years. In addition, existing-homes were more popular among buyers than reported in last year's profile. Research Economist Jessica Lautz takes a closer look at the numbers in this month's Market Intelligence article.
Read more >
New Quarterly Statistics: State Home Sales, Metro Area Prices
The latest NAR quarterly survey of metropolitan area home prices shows that 45 states and the District of Columbia experienced increased sales from the 2nd quarter of 2009 to the 3rd quarter of the year, and 28 states and the District saw double-digit gains in resales. And while most markets experienced declines in median home prices from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009, some markets posted significant gains.
Read more >
Big Rebound in Existing-Home Sales
Existing-home sales posted a strong rebound in September, registering a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units for the month. Resales rose 9.4 percent from October and were up 9.2 percent from their level in September of 2008. Existing-home sales activity was at its highest level in over two years. The pace of resales increased in all four regions of the country. Much of the momentum reflects buyers responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home.
Read more >
Get Insights Without Looking
Have Real Estate INSIGHTS delivered to your e-mail box as soon as new content is posted each month. It's free to members as well as non-members! Subscribe in the "My Account" section of Realtor.org.
Subscribe now>
Part of NAR's Right Tools, Right Now Initiative
In these uncertain times, NAR is here to help you succeed with the Right Tools, Right Now initiative, offering more than 300 educational products, publications, and services free or at cost. For more information, visit www.REALTOR.org/RightTools.
Real Estate Insights
Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist
Paul Bishop, Managing Director, NAR Research
Jed Smith, Managing Director, Quantitative Research
Arun Barman, Research Economist
Wannasiri Chompoopet, Manager of Housing Statistics
Keunwon Chung, Data Research Analyst
Stephanie Davis, Office Manager
Thomas J. Doyle, Research Marketing Manager
Meredith Dunn, Communications Representative
Ken Fears,Manager, Regional Economics
Danielle Hale, Research Economist
Michael Hyman, Research Assistant
Jessica Lautz, Research Economist
Selma Lewis, Research Economist
George Ratiu, Research Economist
Gregg Stratton, Research Economist
Sophia Stuart, Marketing Associate
Caroline Van Hollen, Senior Research Coordinator
Copyright © 2009 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Reproduction or reprinting in any form is prohibited without written permission. Editorial questions and requests to reprint articles should be directed to Meredith Dunn via e-mail at data@realtors.org.
