Frequently Asked Questions: General Questions

Median Prices

Q: What is the difference between Case-Shiller, OFHEO, and NAR median prices?
A: Research has an entire webpage dedicated to answering this popular question, and can be found here.  

 

Methodology

Q: What is the methodology for the Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers?
A: In August 2008, The NAR mailed an eight -page questionnaire to 133,000 consumers who purchased a home between July 2007 and June 2008. The survey yielded a 10,053 usable responses with a response rate, after adjusting for undeliverable addresses, of 7.9 percent. Consumer names and addresses were obtained from Experian, a firm that maintains an extensive database of recent home buyers derived from county records. Information about sellers comes from those buyers who also sold a home.

All information in this Profile is characteristic of the 12-month period ending June 2008, with the exception of income data, which are reported for 2007. In some sections comparisons are also given for results obtained in previous surveys. Not all results are directly comparable due to changes in questionnaire design and sample size. Some results are presented for the four U.S. Census regions: Northeast, Midwest, South and West. The median is the primary statistical measure throughout this report. Due to rounding and omissions for space, percentage distributions may not add to 100 percent.

Q: What is the methodology for the Member Profile?
A: In February 2008, NAR mailed an 89-question survey to a random sample of 72,000 Realtors®. An identical questionnaire was also distributed to another group of 89,400 members via a Web-based online survey. A total of 9,997 responses were received. After accounting for undeliverable questionnaires, the survey had an adjusted response rate of 7.7 percent. Survey responses were weighted to be representative of state level NAR membership. Information about compensation, earnings, sales volume and number of transactions are characteristics of calendar year 2007, while all other data are representative of member characteristics in early 2008.

NAR is committed to equal opportunity in the real estate industry. In accordance with this commitment, racial and ethnic information was collected and is included in this report. Where relevant, we present information on Realtors® in subgroups based on the license held by members of NAR: a broker, broker-associate, sales agent or appraiser license. The term "broker" refers to Realtors® holding a broker or broker associate license unless otherwise noted. In some cases, information is presented by Realtors®' main function within their firm or their real estate specialty regardless of the type of license held.

The primary measure of central tendency used throughout this report is the median, the middle point in the distribution of responses to a particular question or, equivalently, the point at which half of the responses are above and below a particular value. Data may not be comparable to previous Member Profile publications due to changes in questionnaire design.

 

Presentations

Q: I saw Lawrence speak at an event. Where can I find his presentation?
A: Many presentations by NAR research staff can be found here. 

 

Real Estate Brokers

Q: What is the total number of licensed real estate brokers?
A: Realtors® are licensed real estate brokers who are members of the National Association of Realtors®. Approximately half of the nation's licensed brokers are members of NAR. NAR's current membership can be found here:
Annual data
Monthly report
For more information you can also visit the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.

Q: Do you track broker-specific information, such as sales volume or number of sides by broker?
A: No, we do not track that, but an organization called RealTrends does. You can find that information here.

 

Research Resources

Q: Where can I find a list of data, survey, presentations, products, and other resources that Research creates?
A: That list is called the Research Resource Guide, and can be found here.

 

Seasonal Adjustment

Q: What is seasonal adjustment?
A: A seasonal adjustment is an adjustment made to data to account for seasonal patterns such as the fact that due to family moves over the summer months between school years, more homes are sold in that time of the year than any others.

Q: Is NAR data seasonally adjusted?
A: NAR seasonally adjusts the existing home sales data so that we can compare the sales in February with the sales in August and not worry that the difference is a result of seasonal pattern. NAR does not adjust the median home price series, so those data should not be compared month-to-month. Instead, we compare the change in home prices from one year prior. For more detail, see our economist commentary on this issue here.