housing market Archive
Instant Reaction: S&P/Case-Shiller Index
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s S&P/Case-Shiller index national home-price index reading for December: “Rising mortgage rates should not be boosting home prices, yet home values accelerated with a 5.8% annual gain in December...
February 28, 2017
Large Metro Areas Seeing Hefty Home-Price Gains
At a pace of 5.7 percent, home-price growth quickened in the final three months of 2016 (5.4 percent in the third quarter) amidst severe supply shortages in much of the U.S. Looking at some of the year-over-year gains in...
February 15, 2017
Existing-Home Sales Dip in December
A dip in existing sales activity in December (2.8 percent) was not enough to keep 2016 from being the strongest year of sales (5.45 million) in exactly a decade. During this morning’s press conference, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist,...
January 24, 2017
Instant Reaction: November Housing Starts
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to today’s U.S. Commerce Department report on November housing starts: “There’s little to cheer about regarding residential construction in November. The fall in single-family housing starts offers zero relief to...
December 16, 2016
2017: Expect Higher Mortgage Rates, Slightly More Sales
2016 was a great year for the housing market. Existing-home sales are currently (as of October) at their strongest pace since February 2009, distressed sales reached an all-time low earlier this fall and first-time buyers finally gained some traction...
December 14, 2016
October Pending Sales Up Slightly. What About the Rest of the Year?
Last month, pending home sales eked out a small gain (0.1 percent). More notably, NAR Research’s index was 1.8 percent higher than a year ago and was up year-over-year in all four major regions. But… A lot has happened since...
November 30, 2016
Instant Reaction: September Jobs Report
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to today’s September jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The latest jobs report shows a softening monthly trend with 156,000 net new jobs in September. Nonetheless, the year-over-year gains...
October 7, 2016
Predicting the World Series Champion by Home-Price Movements
If the American League and National League’s wild card games are any indication, there’s no doubt we’re in for an unpredictable Major League Baseball postseason. Just as you would never consider buying or selling a home without a Realtor®,...
October 6, 2016
Blame Low Inventory and Higher Home Prices for August’s Existing-Home Sales Slide
Existing sales fell in August to their second-lowest pace of 2016 (5.33 million). But don’t let the down sales number fool you. This is a very active housing market. Properties in August typically sold 10 days quicker than a...
September 22, 2016
Your City Is Most Likely Facing a Housing Supply Crunch
Total housing inventory for existing homes has decreased year-over-year for 14 straight months. The situation isn’t much better for the new homes market. According to this morning’s report by the U.S. Commerce Department on August housing starts, building last month...
September 20, 2016