Tag Archives: National Association of Realtors

Given that nearly all the news about the homebuying market these past few years has focused on tight markets, lower-than-expected activity, and mortgages that keep circling the drain, it may seem easy to overlook a basic question—is anyone buying second homes these days? As it turns out, yes.

Measuring new homebuilding against employment numbers—which only recently recovered from their recessionary decline—the National Association of Realtors finds that historically, there is one new home built for every 1.5 jobs added to the economy. As of the first quarter, 32 states and the District of Columbia are above that ratio, meaning job growth has far outpaced new construction over the past three years.

Despite reaching their highest level so far this year, April home sales in Connecticut disappointed compared to year-ago levels. According to the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Nutmeg State totaled 1,816 in April, down 7.9 percent from April 2013’s 1,973 but an improvement over 1,589 in March. It was the first time in more than a year in which home sales fell annually.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) recorded a 0.4 percent gain in Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for April, bringing it up to 97.8. A measure of contract signings, the index serves as a forward-looking indicator for future sales activity. "Higher inventory levels are giving buyers more choices, and a slight decline in mortgage interest rates this spring is raising prospective buyers' confidence," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total existing-home sales rose 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million in April. "Some growth was inevitable after sub-par housing activity in the first quarter, but improved inventory is expanding choices and sales should generally trend upward from this point," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

Despite many beginning-of-the-year predictions about spring growth in the housing market falling flat, and despite a still chugging economy that changes its mind quarter-to-quarter, economists at the National Association of Realtors and other industry groups expect an uptick in the economy and housing market through next year. The key to NAR's optimism, as expressed by the organization's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, last week, is a hefty pent-up demand for houses coupled with expectations of job growth—which itself has been more feeble than anticipated.

Median existing single-family home prices kept marching up in nearly 75 percent of measured markets in the first quarter, though at a slightly lower pace, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. NAR found the national median existing-single family home price was $191,600 in the first quarter, up 8.6 percent from the previous year.

Following months of stagnancy, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) measure of pending home sales rose in March, the group reported. 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 said the increase was expected with the end of last season’s severe weather.

On Thursday, RealtyTrac released its Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which showed modest gains in U.S. residential sales in March. The firm reported that March showed a 0.4 percent uptick in overall transactions compared to February and a full 8 percent increase over sales in March 2013. RealtyTrac’s data clashes with other reports released this week about March sales.

According to estimates from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total existing-home sales in March came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million, a 0.2 percent slip from February’s downwardly revised pace of 4.60 million and hitting a nearly two-year low. Compared to March 2013, the sales rate was down 7.5 percent.