New Jersey real estate agents are saying that the winter time is not as quiet as people think, according to NJ.com.
“There’s a misunderstanding that winter is quiet,” said Andrea Webb, an agent with Keller Williams in Montclair.
Starting last month, New Jersey agents are preparing for the spring market, decompressing, networking and taking continuing education courses. And some are encouraging sellers to list their homes during a time when there is generally less competition. [more]
Existing home sales increased 4 percent in November, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors, which also revised four years worth of data the organization previously announced was errant.
NAR downwardly revised existing home sales statistics dating back to 2007 by more than 14 percent. The association said the bad data stemmed from a previously unnoticed increase in the number of people that use brokers, and therefore an unaccounted for change in the market share that the multiple listing services throughout the country capture. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
Real estate and financial professionals that closely track the National Association of Realtors’ monthly existing-home sales data are in for a rude awakening. The New York Post reported that the association has admitted it has been reporting bad figures for every month since January 2007 and will revise four years worth of data downward starting next Wednesday.
The NAR attributed the bad data to a statistical glitch that counted some homes twice, along with population shifts and a decline in owners selling their own home. [more]
How big a whack did your credit scores take during the grim years of economic distress following the housing bust? Was it 20 points, 50 points, 100 points — or maybe no drop at all?
These are key questions affecting millions of potential homebuyers who hope to qualify for mortgages and current owners looking to refinance. New research from a major credit-risk evaluation company suggests that the drop in huge numbers of Americans’ scores was dramatic.
FICO (formerly known as Fair Isaac Corp.), which developed and markets the eponymous score that dominates the home mortgage field, found that during 2008 to 2009, approximately 50 million consumers in this country saw their FICO scores plunge by more than 20 points. [more]
Pending home sales rose strongly nationwide in October, remaining up by 9.2 percent year-over-year, according to the October pending home sales report from the National Association of Realtors, released today.The Pending Home Sales Index, which measures signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condominium and co-op units, rose to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September. In October 2010, the index was 85.5.
The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast surged 17.7 percent to 71.3 in October and was 3.4 percent above October 2010′s index. [more]
Sales of existing homes rose in October, but remained stuck at a low level, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors, which noted that contract failures played a large role in the stagnant market.
Existing sales increased 1.4 percent from September and 13.5 percent from October 2010 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units.
“Home sales have been stuck in a narrow range despite several improving factors that generally lead to higher home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “A higher rate of contract failures has held back a sales recovery.” – Adam Fusfeld
[more]
Most metropolitan areas experienced annual price declines in home prices in the third quarter, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors. In 111 of the 150 metro areas it tracks, the NAR found price declines, compared to 109 experiencing annual declines in the second quarter.
But seasonally adjusted sales volume increased 17 percent compared to the prior year quarter, though it slipped a tenth of a percent from the second quarter rate.
“Home sales need to recover first — only then can prices stabilize,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
From left: Orange County Association of Realtors CEO Ann Garti, Richard Haggerty, deputy executive director of Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors and Bill Thorne, executive director of the Rockland County Board of Realtors In the face of declining memberships, three Hudson Valley real estate associations will join forces in the new year, after the last of the boards voted in favor of a merger Wednesday.
The Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors, the Orange County Association of Realtors and the Rockland County Board of Realtors started merger negotiations earlier this month, but the tie-up was not official until the Orange County group voted to combine with the others.
“My members… see the dramatic changes in the industry and see our membership declining as a result of the conditions in the real estate industry,” said Ann Garti, CEO of the Orange County association. [more]
U.S. pending home sales declined unexpectedly in September, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors, as buyers faced tight lending restrictions.
The Pending Home Sales Index, an indicator based on contract signings, fell 4.6 percent to 84.5 in September from 88.6 in August, but is 6.4 percent higher than September 2010 when it stood at 79.4. In the Northeast, the index declined 4.7 percent to 60.6 in September, but is 4 percent above September 2010.
A drop in pending sales reflects the fact that the housing market is being excessively constrained, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. — Katherine Clarke [more]
The National Association of Realtors is warning that homebuyers are already being pushed out of the market because of a recent drop in the maximum size of government-backed home loans, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The reduced limits — $625,500 in expensive markets such as New York, down from $729,75 before October– went into effect early this month and are impacting loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration.
NAR surveyed 1,300 real estate agents on the subject and discovered that about half said they represented buyers whose search for a home had been hindered by the reduced limits. [more]
