Michael Crist

The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to the Federal Reserve’s decision today not to raise short-term rates, as well as how monetary policy the rest of the year will influence mortgage rates: “The Fed will not be on standby for the remainder of the year. A total of three short-term rate hikes are likely.… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: Lawrence Yun on Today’s FOMC Statement and 2018 Outlook for Mortgage Rates

Existing-home sales closed 2017 on a softer note, but the prospects for sales gains in the months ahead look brighter as contract activity edged higher in December for the third straight month. Visit https://www.nar.realtor/videos/housing-minute to watch a 52-second, animated video from the National Association of Realtors® summarizing how the housing market performed in December, as… Continue Reading WATCH: Realtors® January Housing Minute: A 52-Second Video of Market Activity

First-time buyers accounted for 32 percent of all buyers of existing homes in December 2017, also the full-year average, according to the December 2017 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey.[1] Compared to 2016, the share held steady, even as home prices continued to increase at a much faster pace than income and as mortgage rates rose somewhat.… Continue Reading Share of First-time Buyers Held Steady at 32% in 2017 as Home Prices Continue to Increase under Tight Supply

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this December fell 3.6 percent from last month but modestly rose 1.1 percent from last year. December’s existing home sales reached 5.5 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. This would be the highest annual rate in the last 11 years. The national median… Continue Reading December 2017 Existing-Home Sales

When I’m working on stories for REALTOR® Magazine, it’s not uncommon for my interview subjects to offer supplemental reading that might help round out my reporting. But rarely am I told that a book could change my thinking entirely on a given subject. So when the Incremental Development Alliances’ John Anderson (whom I interviewed in… Continue Reading Wake Up Call for the Development Industry

By Audra Slinkey, Home Staging Resource A lot of people don’t realize just how much home stagers do for their clients. Certified professional home stagers are true artists and will go to great lengths to get that “right look,” as well as help seller’s maximize the return impact on the sale of their home. Here are… Continue Reading Stagers Who Stand Ready to Transform Properties

A company called Zenplace in San Francisco is using robots to help its agents conduct showings. When people arrive at the unit, they’re greeted by what amounts to an iPad on a mobile stand that leads them around, but it’s personalized; it’s the agent’s image and voice that people see and hear. Other companies are coming… Continue Reading Robots are Starting to Do Showings

Micro-Progress, shopping, design, niches, Tide Pods, materials, food, and networking. 1. Find article to share. 2. Copy link. 3. Write line about article. 4. Create hyperlink. 5. Progress achieved! Brick and mortar with a twist from the company that moved so much shopping online. Speaking of twists, these buildings and bridges wind and wander. There’s… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: January 22-26

The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s U.S. Commerce Department release on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter: “The economy expanded at a respectable rate of 2.3% in 2017. That’s a good comeback considering a very weak start of only 1.2% growth in the first quarter. The housing market… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: 2017 Q4 GDP