Tag Archives: Lawrence Yun

On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for October, reporting the first rebound after three consecutive months of reduced activity. ...

What’s the latest on existing home sales? Despite the challenges of the past year, a rebound is in store for 2018.

The current imbalance of supply and demand in the housing market has caused second quarter home price results to continue on its path, overshadowing 2016 numbers. However, could these numbers point to crisis?

Existing home sales took a drop in April as prospective buyers and middle-income homeowners faced problems in the current housing market. Tightening supply continues to drive up prices. Properties, on average, stayed on the market for a month.

Higher existing-home sales do not necessarily mean high homeownership rate. With homes selling fast, homebuyers are starting to realize they can afford less of what is on the market. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Jonathan Spader, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, and Mark Calabria, chief economist and assistant to Vice President Mike Pence weigh in on the 2017 midyear forecast.

The five major measuring tools used to rank each state for first time buyers were housing affordability, the job market for young adult, housing market tightness, credit availability, and homeownership among the under-35 crowd.

Experts predict that home sales activity will likely be choppy in coming months as buyers compete for the meager number of listings in their price range.

The Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February from a slight downward revision of 103.7 in January and is 12 percent about the February 2014 number of 95.4. The index is at its highest level since June 2013 and has increased year-over-year for six consecutive months and is above 100, considered an average level of activity, for the tenth consecutive month.

Sales are 4.7 percent higher than a year ago and above year-over-year totals for the fifth consecutive month. The median existing home price for all housing types in February was $202, 600. That is 7.5 percent above the February 2014 price. This marks the 36th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains since last year.