Tag Archives: National Association of Realtors

Thirty-one percent of homebuyers living in the state were able to afford a median-priced existing single-family home last quarter, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said Thursday. While that was a slight improvement from 30 percent in Q3, it was down from a revised 32 percent in 2013's closing months, the group reported.

The national median price for existing single-family homes in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $208,700, up 6.0 percent from the same quarter in 2013, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was better than the third quarter, which saw 4.8 percent annual growth.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Thursday that its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) declined 3.7 percent last month to a reading of 100.7. Economists expected a 0.9 percent gain. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, blamed the monthly downswing on a drop in for-sale homes and an acceleration in price growth.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Friday that sales of pre-owned homes rose 2.4 percent month-over-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million. It was the sixth time in the past seven months in which existing-home sales topped an annual rate of 5 million.

A day after the White House announced plans to cut the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance premium by 50 basis points, politicians and commentators are still wrestling with the reduction's potential impact on the housing market, the mortgage insurance industry, and the agency itself.

The White House announced Wednesday that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce mortgage insurance premiums in an effort to boost U.S. homeownership. The announcement is welcome news to many of housing's biggest trade organizations, who have been vocal in the past few months about the consequences of higher premiums.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 0.8 percent month-over-month increase in its Pending Home Sales Index to a reading of 104.8 in November. With the most recent increase, the index has now posted annual gains for three straight months, lining up with recent improvements in existing-home sales activity.

In its latest Nowcast projections, online real estate auction company Auction.com calls for pre-owned home sales to fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 4.79 and 5.18 million for December, with a targeted number of 4.98 million.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday that existing-home sales fell 6.1 percent from October to November, landing at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million. Despite the stumble, home resales in November were still up 2.1 percent from year-ago levels, making it just the second month in 2014 to see sales rise year-over-year.

In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee's subcommittee on housing, Mabel Guzman, 2014 chair of the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Conventional Finance and Lending Committee, highlighted some of the biggest challenges constraining homeownership.