Tag Archives: National Association of Realtors

Brown's letter comes months after the bureau signaled it will be watching out for brokers trying to skirt its compensation rules by operating the same way under a different label. Those rules were put in place early this year as a way to remove financial incentives for brokers to direct borrowers toward riskier products.

The drop in the pending sales measure came in the same month that the association reported a dip in existing home sales. According to NAR, sales of existing homes in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million, down 1.8 percent from July.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), issued a statement on September 3 reporting that despite reports of more jobs, lower interest rates, and overall economic improvement, home sales are typically slow for the autumn months.

Though pending sales were down 2.1 percent compared to a year ago, July's figure was the highest since August 2013 and was the third straight month in which the index measured above 100, a value NAR considers to be an average level of contract activity.

As analysts, industry participants, and policymakers struggle to boost homeownership among Americans, foreign activity in the U.S. housing market remains strong. According to a profile of international homebuying activity released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total international home sales were estimated at $92.2 billion from April 2013 through March 2013, up from the previous period's level of $68.2 billion.

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which measures contract signings as an indicator of future sales figures, jumped 6.1 percent month-over-month to 103.9. It was the largest one-month increase since April 2010, when the index spiked 9.6 percent as first-time buyers moved to sign purchase contracts to qualify for the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Annualized housing starts crossed the 1 million mark in April for the first time this year, but little of that improvement came on the single-family side—and that's a serious problem, says the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Measuring new homebuilding against employment numbers—which only recently recovered from their recessionary decline—NAR finds that historically, there is one new home built for every 1.5 jobs added to the economy.

For the first time this year, existing-home sales and total inventory increased in April, while home price growth moderated. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total existing-home sales, which the group defines as single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million in April 2014.

According to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), year-over-year home price growth continued in most metros, albeit at a slightly lessened pace. The median existing single-family home price increased in 74 percent of measured markets.

According to the latest release, NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose to 97.4 last month, up 3.4 percent from February’s upwardly revised 94.2. It was the first real pickup in the last nine months, the association said. NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said the increase was expected with the end of last season’s severe weather.