NAR

Differences in household demographics and affordable financing options spur homebuying demand for young active-service military members, causing them to significantly outpace the share of non-military homebuyers under the age of 35, according to the first-ever 2016 Veterans & Active Military Home Buyers and Sellers Profile, which evaluates the differences of recent active-service and veteran home buyers and sellers1 compared to those who’ve never served. The survey also found that while nearly all veteran and non-military buyers and sellers use an agent, usage is practically universal among active-service military members.

Property owners who opt to purchase flood insurance in the private market rather than through the National Flood Insurance Program may do so under current rules, but they risk paying higher rates if they return to the NFIP. H.R. 2901, the "Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act," passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 419-0 and seeks to alleviate that concern

Pending home sales increased slightly in March for the second consecutive month and reached their highest level in almost a year, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the West region saw a decline in contract activity last month

Bolstered by big gains in the Northeast and Midwest, existing-home sales bounced back in March and remained slightly up from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The National Association of Realtors®’ strategic investment fund, Second Century Ventures, today announced the seven companies chosen to be part of the fourth class of NAR REach®, a vertical tech accelerator helping launch companies into the real estate, financial services, banking, home services and insurance industries. The program is focused on providing these early- to mid-stage companies access to the expertise, influence and key relationships NAR provides, as they are launched into the trillion dollar real estate space

With demand exceeding supply in markets across the U.S., homebuyers may be facing an uphill battle to find the perfect home this spring. Total housing inventory at the end of February was 1.88 million existing homes available for sale, 1.1 percent lower than last year and at a 4.4 month supply at the current sales pace, which is below the roughly six month supply level needed for a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Vacation home sales cooled off in 2015 but remained at the second highest amount in nearly a decade, while investment purchases increased for the first time in five years, according to an annual survey of residential homebuyers released today by the National Association of Realtors®. Mirroring the strong price growth seen throughout the U.S., the median sales price of both vacation and investment homes surged in 2015.

Pending home sales rose solidly in February to their highest level in seven months and remain higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Led by a sizeable increase in the Midwest, all major regions except for the Northeast saw an increase in contract activity in February

Rapattoni Corporation and Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) have jointly announced that Rapattoni customers may be among the first real estate professionals with instant access to live listing data and other MLS resources through RPR's Advanced Multi-List Platform™ (AMP™).

After increasing to the highest annual rate in six months, existing-home sales tumbled in February amidst unshakably low supply levels and steadfast price growth in several sections of the country, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Led by the Northeast and Midwest, all four major regions experienced sales declines in February.

Over three-quarters of surveyed households would purchase a single-family home if they were to buy in the next six months, and 79 percent of renters would choose to buy outside of an urban area, according to the second installment of the National Association of Realtors® new quarterly consumer survey. The survey also found that confidence about now being a good time to buy is waning amongst renters, particularly in the West – where prices have solidly risen.

The National Association of Realtors®’ Center for Realtor® Technology recently participated in Koding Inc.’s 2016 global virtual hackathon and took second place out of more than a thousand teams.

IA growing share of homebuyers are millennials, and more of them are purchasing single-family homes outside of urban areas, according to the2016 National Association of Realtors® Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trendsstudy, which evaluates the generational differences1 of recent home buyers and sellers. The survey additionally found that although student loan debt is more prevalent among millennial buyers, they aren’t the generation with the largest student debt balances.

Realtor® University, the only advanced online education institution centered exclusively on real estate, has received accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, or DEAC, an organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Following the highest average year for the index in nearly a decade1, pending home sales declined to begin 2016 but remained slightly higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the South saw an uptick in contract activity in January.

Existing-home sales crept forward in January to the highest annual rate in six months, and subpar supply levels propelled price growth to the fastest increase since last April, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The West was the only region to see a decline in sales in January.

The National Association of Realtors® strongly supports the Veterans Affairs Department’s Home Loan Guaranty Program and Specially Adapted Housing Grants and looks forward to working with the VA on further initiatives to ensure homeownership remains in reach for America’s veterans

Despite various global and domestic hurdles hindering economic growth, steady job gains and stable leasing demand should help keep commercial real estate activity expanding in 2016, according to the authors of an annual report published jointly by Situs Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to advance legislation that will expand opportunities for homeownership. H.R. 3700, the "Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act," includes a number of initiatives that have strong support from the National Association of Realtors®, who hailed the vote as important progress for home buyers and sellers.

Realtors® not only help their clients achieve the American Dream by helping them buy and sell their homes, they also volunteer countless hours to help improve and develop their communities. For eight years, REALTOR® Magazine's Good Neighbor Society has helped Realtors® extend and enhance their charitable work through the Volunteering Works grant and mentoring program. The program, which assigns mentors to Realtors® who want to increase and expand their community service outreach, is now seeking entries.