Featured Content - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

 
 With the scheduled closing deadline for the home buyer tax credits, existing-home sales slowed in June but remained at relatively elevated levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 mi [ ... ]

According to the most recent Realtors® Confidence Index, buyers continue to be discouraged with the extended short sale process, resulting in foreclosures that could have been prevented. New resources from the National Association of Realtors® aim to help Realtors® and consumers successfully navigate the short sale process to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure.

  At the beginning of the 21st century, most home buyers had never viewed a home online; the three top home sale marketing methods were yard signs, newspaper ads and open houses; and nearly nine out of 10 buyers financed their purchase with a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage. What a difference a decade makes.

  Despite a slow market and a slight decrease in the resale value of most remodeling projects, Realtors® report that the smartest home improvement investments may also be some of the least expensive. Results from the 2009 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report show that small-scale exterior projects are the most profitable at resale, according to estimates by Realtors® who completed a r [ ... ]

  The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the National Association of Realtors® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee today.

  Nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures, according to National Association of Realtors® data. To help Realtors® meet the needs of home buyers and sellers who need these services, NAR has launched a new Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification Program (SFR).

Commercial real estate closed the first half of the year with weakened fundamentals and a slow pace of transactions amid difficult economic conditions.  Demand for commercial properties dropped precipitously, bringing down prices and rents.  In addition, maturing commercial debt was met with little available credit, leading to a jump in delinquencies and distressed properties.  As space fl [ ... ]

  For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

   Jupiter, Fla., has been named a 2009 Ambassador City by the National Association of Realtors® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors for its SOLD on Jupiter program. The program offers potential homebuyers with information, resources and a tour of affordable homes.

    Historically high housing affordability and low mortgage interest rates, combined with buyer opportunities in the distressed sales market, have increased home sales in many areas of the country.

“There has never been a better time to buy,” said National Association of Realtors® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who presented NAR’s economic out [ ... ]