Existing home sales gained speed in the first month of 2013, up 9.1 percent in January 2013 when compared to the same month in 2012, as reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). At the current rate observed in January 2013, sales are on… Read more

One thing this ongoing economic downturn forced was an increasing sensitivity in both individuals and businesses to the comparative costs of living—and ultimately the cost of doing business. Kiplinger reported the 10 most-affordable cities based on analyses by the Council for Community and Economic Research’s… Read more

The big story for March 2012 existing homes sales was the significant decline in the inventory of homes available for sale (where the months inventory contrasts the current supply, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, to the sales rate).  Months inventory in March 2012 was 6.7 months… Read more

Yesterday the Case-Shiller Index (owned by Standard and Poors), reported that U.S. home prices declined once again, now down from the peak on a national average 33.9 percent based on  the 20-city composite index. Once again I invoke the TINSTAANREM clause—There Is No Such Thing… Read more

There are very few globally-recognized locations as small as Aspen, Colorado (the entire County in which Aspen is located, Pitkin County, had a population of 17,148 in 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau).  In the 1970s and early 1980s I did numerous appraisal assignments… Read more

AOL has just released a compilation  of home price statistics that have a unique perspective on the U.S. housing market.  Standard & Poors’ Case–Shiller Index reported a year-over-year price decline of 3.7 percent (November data) while the National Association of Realtors® saw 2011 declines of… Read more

One of the issues we all must acknowledge is that there is no such thing as a national real estate market.  Nor is there even a local market—inventory, demand and prices vary by price range, neighborhood and product type. And by the way, when I… Read more

But a Ways to Go to Get There James Hagerty of the Wall Street Journal once again has written about upcoming speed bumps in the road to recovery in the housing debacle.  (see below following this commentary). As the housing bubble commences the final–albeit still… Read more