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While local conditions vary, the REALTORS® buyer traffic and current conditions confidence indices remained above 50 in August 2016, indicating that more local markets were “strong” rather than “weak,” according to the August 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report.[1] The buyer traffic index, an indicator of homebuying interest, stood at about the same level as… Continue Reading Highlights of the August 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey

It’s common today for real estate brokerages to have systems in place for sending email alerts whenever there’s new or updated listings that customers might be interested in. it’s not new technology, and in fact the technology is arguably ubiquitous in the industry. Now imagine you get hit with a letter demanding you pay a… Continue Reading Maybe you haven’t tangled with a troll, but this patent victory is for you

Overwhelmingly, home buyers have purchased detached single-family homes more than any other type of home in the last 35 years. Since 1981, the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers has collected data on the types of homes purchased throughout the three-and-a-half decades. Consistently, 74 to 88 percent of home buyers purchased single-family homes each year.… Continue Reading Single-Family Homes Are a Buyer’s Best Friend

In the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) asks members “How do you rate the past month’s traffic in the neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales?” NAR compiles the responses on buyer traffic into a REALTORS® Buyer Traffic Index and the responses on seller traffic into a… Continue Reading REALTORS® Reported “Weak” Supply Amid “Strong” Demand in August 2016

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity slowed for the second month in a row. August’s existing-home sales slid to the 5.33 million seasonally adjusted annual rate and existing-home sales are modestly up 0.8 percent from a year ago.  The national median existing-home price for all housing types was… Continue Reading August 2016 Existing-Home Sales

Repeat home buyers have the option of trading up for a bigger home, purchasing a home similar in size, and trading down to a smaller home. This change in home size often corresponds to life changes. For instance, empty nesters will often trade down to a smaller home when children leave and they want less… Continue Reading Trading Up and Trading Down: The Times Are A Changin’

Apple’s new operating system for the Mac — Sierra — has just been released. Siri is now part of the Mac OS, but that’s not the only big change. The Verge has a full review. Tired of hearing about drones? Yeah, us too, sometimes. But then you hear about how insurance companies are using them… Continue Reading macOS Sierra Reviewed; An Awesome Use for Drones; More in Five for Wednesday

Existing sales fell in August to their second-lowest pace of 2016 (5.33 million). But don’t let the down sales number fool you. This is a very active housing market. Properties in August typically sold 10 days quicker than a year ago, inventory has now declined year-over-year for 15 straight months, and after increasing again in… Continue Reading Blame Low Inventory and Higher Home Prices for August’s Existing-Home Sales Slide

Let’s take a snap shot into the minds of REALTOR® firms and their projection for business in the near-term from the 2016 Profile of Real Estate Firms. First, we know that roughly half (47 percent) of all firms are actively recruiting agents in 2016, up from 44 percent in 2015. Hiring is always an indicator… Continue Reading Growth Forecast for REALTOR® Firms