realtors

New Google App for iPhone Helps find Open Houses, Plan Routes

December 2, 2008

Although I don’t have one yet (my current contract is not up until May 09) the iPhone is my favorite technological innovation since broadband. Now, Google has introduced an app for the iPhone that allows realtors, house hunters and real estate investors find open houses. As if that was not cool enough, using the Google […]

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Existing Home Sales Are Relatively Unchanged Going On 14 Months Now

November 25, 2008

In real estate, the term existing home refers to a “used” property; one that can’t be classified as new construction. The number of existing homes sold each month is tracked by the National Association of REALTORS. The report is often used as a gauge for the health of the real estate market nationwide. In October, […]

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Pending Home Sales Shows That More Buyers May Be Shopping For Homes Than You Thought

October 9, 2008

Buyers are returning to the housing market. Each month, The National Association of REALTORS® tracks homes under contract to sell, but whose closing has not yet happened.  It calls them “pending sales” and publishes a monthly report to quantify them. The Pending Home Sales report is important because it’s meant to predict future home sales activity.  […]

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Falling Home Supplies Are Bad News For Home Buyers (But Good News For Home Sellers)

September 25, 2008

The August Existing Home Sales report was released Wednesday, showing a decline in the number of homes sold nationwide, and a reduction in the median sales price. Not surprisingly, the media singled these two statistics out, playing them as a big negative. They’re not. The decline in sales wasn’t good, but it wasn’t terrible, either — sales […]

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The Median Home Sales Price Fell Nationally, But “National” Data Is Irrelevant

August 15, 2008

Each month, the National Association of Realtors® releases a study called the Existing Home Sales report.  It’s a detailed look at “used” home sales data from all four regions of the country. One of the key findings in each Existing Home Sales report is something called the “median sales price”, the statistical price point at which half […]

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How To Make Sense Of The Pending Home Sales Index

August 12, 2008

When home sellers accepts a contract on MLS-listed property, the property’s official status changes from “Active” to “Pending”. By measuring the number of “Pending” homes nationwide, the National Association of Realtors® publishes its once-monthly Pending Homes Sales Index. The real estate industry group positions the report as a predictor of future home sales activity, stating that […]

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It Doesn’t Matter That The Median Home Sale Price Rose In March 2008

April 23, 2008

The National Association of REALTORS released its Existing Home Sales report for March 2008.  An “existing home” is one that is not considered new construction. A sub-headline in the report showed that the median sales price of all homes sold in March increased by 2.5 percent to $200,700. But don’t assume that the housing market is […]

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Why “Median Sales Price” Reports Aren’t Helpful For Housing Markets

March 27, 2008

Each month, the Commerce Department and the National Association of REALTORS release national housing data. The former’s release is called the New Residential Sales report and the latter’s is called the Existing Home Sales report. Both reports highlight the “median sales price”, the point at which half of the homes in the U.S. sold for […]

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What Happens On The National Real Estate Scene Doesn’t Matter To You

September 26, 2007

The National Association of Realtors® released its monthly Existing Home Sales report for August 2006 and, as usual, you should be ignoring it. The report discusses real estate on a national level and we all know that real estate is a local phenomenon. It’s not that the report isn’t helpful — it is.  The Existing […]

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What’s The Existing Home Sales Report Got To Do With You? Nothing.

August 28, 2007

When the National Association of Realtors® releases its monthly Existing Home Sales report, people tend to watch every word, fact and figure in the statement in hopes of decoding the real estate market. It’s all wasted energy. It’s impossible to use the NAR report in everyday living because the NAR report is a national story.  […]

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Why You Should Approach Tomorrow’s Existing Home Sales Headlines With Some Skepticism

July 25, 2007

June’s Existing Home Sales reported weaker than expected and dropped from prior levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS. Because our country (A) loves to discuss real estate, and (B) loves statistical headlines, expect tomorrow’s newspapers to emblazon one (or both) of these data points on the front page: Home sales are down 3.8% from […]

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Why Square Footage Is A Matter Of Debate, or The Difference Between Guidance and Law

June 15, 2007

Square footage of a home is a matter of debate — a homeowner measures it one way, a real estate agent another way, and an appraiser a third way. The local tax assessor has his own method, too. So, who is right? Until 2003, they all were!  That’s when the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Appraisal […]

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