Category Archives: NAR

Commercial Realtors® reporting more businesses opening in their areas

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More than half of commercial Realtors® reported that more businesses opened in their area in March, according to NAR’s Business Creation Index for March.

This was an increase of 15 percent from November. While 34 percent of commercial agents reported that they had not seen an increase in new businesses launching in March, this is the lowest percent since the survey began.

Retail businesses were the most common addition of new businesses, according to the survey. Fifty-nine percent of Realtors® said they saw retail stores opening, followed by food and beverage at 56 percent and health, medical or dental with 38 percent. Area-wise, the East South Central saw the most new businesses open, according to 63 percent of agents, followed by the Middle Atlantic, which includes Pennsylvania, at 57 percent and the South Atlantic and West North Atlantic, both at 56 percent.

More than one-half (52 percent) of agents said they saw more businesses opening than closing, a decrease of 3 percent from February, but an increase year-to-year. Twenty-nine percent reported that the ratio of businesses opening and closing is the same, an increase of 3 percent from February.

On the other end of the spectrum, 65 percent of agents said they had not noticed more businesses closing, a decrease of 8 percent from December. Nearly one-quarter reported that more businesses closed in March, an increase of 7 percent since December.

Retail shops were the most likely to close, according to the report. Thirty percent of agents reported that retail shops were the ones that closed, followed by 21 percent who said food or beverage and both office and real estate, said 8 percent.

The Mountain region was the most likely to report businesses closing (29 percent), followed by the Middle Atlantic, the East North Central and New England, who all hit 25 percent.

 

Make the Realtor® Party voice heard

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Are you ready to respond?

NAR has highlighted several important federal legislative issues facing Realtors® this year. The three key issues are: reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, tax reform including retaining the mortgage interest and property tax deductions, and the restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

You can expect to learn more about these issues at NAR’s Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., May 15-20.

In the meantime, I urge you to be ready to respond to future calls-for-action by signing up for NAR’s Realtor® Party Mobile Alerts. With these important issues, you’ll want to make your voice heard and help our federal lawmakers understand how these issues affect homeowners.

To sign up, simply open a text message on your cell phone, use the number 30644 and text the word: REALTORS. You’ll only receive a text when a call-for-action is issued, which allows you to quickly send your response to your legislators. Or you can sign up online at the RealtorActionCenter.com.

Together, we can make the Realtor® voice heard.

Existing-home sales kick off 2017 hitting decade high

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Existing-home sales increased 3.3 percent, and reached a 10-year high in January, according to the National Association of Realtors® recent release.

Sales hit 5.69 million, the strongest sales pace since February 2007. The sales pace is 3.8 percent higher than January 2016, but the median home price rose 7.1 percent year-to-year to $228,900. This is the 59th consecutive month representing year-to-year price increases.

Nearly every region, excluding the Midwest, saw increases. In the Northeast, sales rose 5.3 percent, increasing to an annual rate of 800,000, 6.7 percent higher than January 2016. The median home price was $253,800, up 2.5 percent from this time last year.

“Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home,” he said. “Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate and deteriorating affordability condition,” said Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR.

First-time homebuyers represented a third (33 percent) of purchasers, an increase of 1 percent from December and last January.

Housing inventory saw an increase of 2.4 percent, rising to 1.69 million existing homes for sale. However, it is still 7.1 percent below January 2016’s housing inventory, which was 1.82 million. Time on the market has also dropped from 52 days in December to 50 days in January.

All-cash sales represented 23 percent of purchases, a 2 percent increase from December, but a 3 percent decrease from January 2016.

“Competition is likely to heat up even more heading into the spring for house hunters looking for homes in the lower- and mid-market price range,” said Yun. “The combination of higher rates and prices led to households in over half of all states last month being able to afford less of all active inventory on the market based on their income.”

 

2016 existing-home sales hit highest peak since 2006

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2016 was the best year for existing home sales in the past decade, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Previously, 2015 had the best year in the past decade for existing home sales with 5.25 million, but 2016 saw sales of 5.45 million, the highest it has been since sales hit 6.48 million in 2006. Sales slipped a bit in December 2016, but still saw an increase of .7 percent from December 2015.

The median existing-home price in December 2016 was $232,200, an increase of 4 percent from December 2015’s average of $223,200.

“Solid job creation throughout 2016 and exceptionally low mortgage rates translated into a good year for the housing market,” he said. “However, higher mortgage rates and home prices combined with record low inventory levels stunted sales in much of the country in December,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “While a lack of listings and fast rising home prices was a headwind all year, the surge in rates since early November ultimately caught some prospective buyers off guard and dimmed their appetite or ability to buy a home as 2016 came to an end.”

Housing inventory continues to remain an issue. In December, inventory fell to 1.65 million, a decrease of 10.8 percent from November,and the lowest NAR has seen since it began the reports in 1999. Properties were on the market for an average of 52 days, representing an increase of nine days compared to November, but a decrease of six days from December 2015.

Throughout 2016, nearly one-third of buyers were first-time homebuyers, a number that remained consistent throughout the past two years.

Region-wise, in the Northeast, the median price was $245,900 in December 2016, a 3.8 percent decrease from December 2015. Additionally, sales slipped 6.2 percent in December to an annual rate of 760,000, an increase of 2.7 percent, compared to 2015.