1.NAR Member Survey Shows Rise in Realtor® Income and Sales Volume
“Reflecting the 11.5 percent growth in home prices last year, income and sales volume jumped for the third year in a row, according to the 2014 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile. The survey also found an increase in new and younger members to NAR in 2013.”
2.Lansner: Homebuying upswing inspires hope
“Month-to-month analysis of any economic trend is often lame – especially in a cyclical business like real estate.”
3.Housing Debt Still Traps 10 Million Americans
“Nearly 10 million Americans remain financially trapped by homes worth less than their mortgage debts — an enduring drag on the U.S. economy almost seven years after the housing bust triggered the Great Recession.”
4.Lower rates don’t boost mortgage applications
“Mortgage rates have hit their lowest levels since November, but it is still not enough to entice people to apply for loans to buy homes.”
5.Behind the mortgage numbers
” mortgage applications week over week are up about 1%. but behind that are two key variables.”
6.United States of Cash Sales: A feudal changing of the guard. 58 percent of all real-estate-owned sales went to cash buyers out flanking traditional buyers with no access to pools of cash.
“The old adage that cash is king seems to be the new mantra for real estate in a post housing crash world. Investors continue to dominate the housing market out maneuvering house horny buyers that simply want a place to call home.”
7.Housing debt still traps 10 million Americans
“Nearly 10 million Americans remain financially trapped by homes worth less than their mortgage debts — an enduring drag on the U.S. economy almost seven years after the housing bust triggered the Great Recession.”
8.Why America’s Most Affordable Homes Likely Aren’t for Sale
“The affordable homes most likely to be sought after by first-time homebuyers are also those most likely to be kept off the market because their current owners are in negative equity, or underwater. Underwater homeowners — those who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth — have a very difficult time listing and selling their homes, even if they want to, without engaging in a short sale or dipping into their savings.”
9.Economy Appears to Gain Strength After Flat First Quarter
“WASHINGTON, DC – After stalling out in the first quarter of the year, recent indicators suggest the economy is poised for a pick-up in growth in the second quarter of 2014, according to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research Group. March data revealed positive consumer spending in both goods and services, helping set up a trajectory for more solid spending growth in the current quarter. “
10.Rising home prices boost Realtor income, but expenses are growing even faster
“Helped by rising home prices, Realtors saw their incomes jump for the third straight year in 2013, but an even bigger jump in expenses ate into their take-home pay, according to an annual member survey from the National Association of Realtors released today.”