Past housing cycles were heavily influenced by changes in mortgage rates. The cycles, both up and down, were generally also abrupt. However, not this time around. The historically low mortgage rates have not turbocharged home sales. At best, there has been a slight recovery and only in the mo
...
02/05/2012
Naturally, more jobs should mean more home sales. However, that relationship does not always hold up if mortgage availability or consumer confidence move in a less favorable direction. In the past few years, jobs have been added and rates have been falling, but home sales have barely moved up.
...
02/05/2012
While most home buyers continue to see their home purchase not only as a place to live, but also as a good financial investment, a smaller share of buyers expressed this view than in the past. Seventy-eight percent of buyers feel that their home purchase is a good financial investment, while onl
...
02/05/2012
The primary reason for purchasing a home was the desire to own a home—more than one-quarter of home buyers cited this reason in 2011; while this remains the most cited reason among all types of buyers, it has decreased in prominence from 2010. The primary reason to purchase a home among repeat
...
02/05/2012
The total annual sales in 2011 were 4.26 million, which is a 1.7 percent increase from 2010. The total annual sales have been essentially stuck at a very low level: 4.1, 4.3, 4.2, and 4.3 million in each of the past four respective years. A 5 percent increase to the 4.61 million unit annualized
...
02/05/2012
The number of people filing for unemployment checks for the first time fell measurably in the past week to 352,000 (down 50,000 from the prior week), which further solidifies improving economic conditions. If weekly jobless claims can remain at or near this range then the net new job creation in
...
02/05/2012
Blockbuster job gains in December. According to Macroeconomic Advisers, using private company payroll data, there were 325,000 net new jobs added in the past month in the private sector. This outsized monthly job gain is one of the largest monthly tallies in over a decade. Over the past 12 month
...
02/05/2012
How affordable is housing for potential buyers? Today’s Housing Affordability Index produced by the National Association of Realtors® yields some insight—the best in decades. The headlines have recently screamed about record low mortgage rates and still soft house prices. How does this translat
...
02/05/2012
As REALTORS® in most parts of the country would know, the completion of home sales are strongest in the late spring and summer months as compared to the winter months. January and February are two months with the lowest number of home sale closings because few buyers shop for homes between Thanks
...
02/02/2012
NAR Home Sales Data Can Put the Market in Perspective Note: This is the first part of a three-part series. Part two will be posted on February 7th, 2012. IntroductionConcerns about existing home sales, prices, and trends splashed across the national media can be overwhelming to the potential buy
...
02/02/2012
