March existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) , showed good improvement compared to March 2012, with sales on a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) up 10.3 percent to 4.92 million, while median price jumped 11.8 percent to $184,300. These are… Read more

The plunge in prices following the real estate bubble burst has made housing perhaps the most affordable in our lives, which has contributed to stabilization of housing ownership. That affordability is countering the megatrend of younger individuals becoming renters rather than pursuing homeownership. While U.S…. Read more

Homeownership has long been viewed as a true positive to the owners, neighborhoods, communities and society. The National Association of REALTORS® has an extensive list of these positives based on decades of research. While homeownership fell out of favor in the mist of the bursting… Read more

Existing home sales statistics for February 2013 were just released by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), and the housing recovery is now close enough to reach a normal level of sales activity within the next 12 months. Existing home sales, on a seasonally adjusted… Read more

The National Association of Realtors® release on December 2012 housing sales and related data again illuminates the path of recovery of U.S. housing markets. While many would focus on the improving home prices, the story once again is how few homes are currently available for… Read more

The story behind the November 2012 existing home sales data is that the number of months of inventory was less than five months – the lowest since the market peaked in September 2005. Real estate economists generally contend that six months of inventory of existing… Read more

Housing continues to make a comeback following the real estate depression of 2007 through 2011. Job growth (albeit tepid), rising rents and population growth are the trifecta to increased sales and prices. October 2012 saw a Seasonally-Adjusted Annualized Sales Rate (SAAR) of 4.79 million existing… Read more

The housing recovery continues as July existing home sales  reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) were up 10.4 percent compared to July 2011, and up sequentially from June 2012 by 2.3 percent. The following graph shows the seasonally adjusted annualized rate, averaged over… Read more

The big story in housing is actually two stories (which are related): Rising Listing Prices Shrinking Inventory Each month, The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) tracks assorted listing data in 146 markets nationwide. The two story trends noted above include:  More than 75 percent of… Read more

The new home sales numbers look like the profile of a double black diamond ski run, with moguls at the bottom of the hill.  Good news is that we have finally run out hill, so to speak, and are just now starting to head up… Read more