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NAR Survey Shows Consumers Very Satisfied With Agent Performance

LAS VEGAS, November 13, 2007 - A new consumer survey shows that buyers and sellers are very satisfied with their real estate professionals. Home buyers use many tools in the transaction process, and both buyers and sellers highly value the personal touch and services real estate professionals offer. The survey was released here today at the 2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.

NAR Finds For-Sale-By-Owner Transactions Remain at Record Lows

LAS VEGAS, November 13, 2007 - The level of for-sale-by-owner transactions remains at a record low, according to the National Association of Realtors® 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The survey was released today at the 2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, here through November 16.

America’s Undervalued Real Estate Markets

When a market goes through uncertain times, investor caution reigns. And whether you're talking about the housing market or the financial services sector, there's been so much bad news lately that it makes sense for buyers and investors to remain wary.

Think in Reverse to Succeed in Auctions

Real estate professionals who want to work in property auctions need to adopt a new way of thinking, says Ted Cucuro, a senior broker associate with Sheldon Good & Co., Chicago. “We do everything in reverse,” Cucuro told attendees of an educational session at the 2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

Realtors(R) Convene in Record Numbers, Aim to Improve Market Confidence

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pat V. Combs, president of the National Association of Realtors, today urged Realtors to help restore confidence in the real estate market by educating the public about the value of housing as a good long-term investment. With the market's positive economic fundamentals, 2007 is turning out to be one of strongest years on record, she said.

Industry Survey Reports on New Challenges Facing Home Buyers

National
ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recently media attention has been heavily focused on the difficulties home sellers face with the current glut of inventory and the tightening of the sub-prime mortgage market. However, according to a Fall member survey and report from the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, home buyers are also facing new challenges.

Tax Surprise After the Short Sale

After the Short Sale: Taxing What Isn't There Too often, real estate practitioners are unaware of the tax liabilities arising from the cancellation of debt and fail to advise their clients accordingly.

Statement of Chairman Dodd on the Fed’s Decision to Lower Interest Rates

Washington, D.C., Oct 31, 2007 -- “The financial tremors caused by the on-going subprime crisis have badly cracked and damaged one of the bedrocks of the American dream – the ability to own a home. When I met with Fed Chairman Bernanke in August, he assured me that the Fed would use all of the tools at its disposal to deal with the current crisis in our housing and financial markets.

Genesis Foundation & Home Downpayment Gift Foundation Prevail

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Genesis Foundation Inc. (Genesis) and Home Downpayment Gift Foundation, Inc. (HDGF), both 501(c)3 charitable entities dedicated to helping low and moderate income families create and maintain homeownership, announced today that it has prevailed in its temporary injunction in the Unites State District Court.

Acting Attorney General Announces Results of Operation Home Sweet Home

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 26, 2007 - The Justice Department announced the results of Operation Home Sweet Home, the Attorney General’s initiative to expose housing discrimination in America. In Fiscal Year 2007, the Department conducted a record number of undercover housing discrimination investigations, filed 30 lawsuits alleging unlawful housing discrimination, and obtained settlements and judgments requiring the payment of over $5 million in monetary damages to victims of discrimination and civil penalties.

HousePlansAndMore.com Adds Exciting New Features to House Plans Web Site

With more than 15,000 home plans to choose from, users may find the task of searching for a new home a bit daunting. But with HDA's new search features, finding that special luxury house plan is a breeze. Consumers are able to search by home plan style, size, and by estimated cost-to-build

NAR, SGA Find Americans Prefer to Spend More on Mass Transit and Highway Maintenance,...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three-fourths of Americans surveyed believe that either being smarter about development or improving public transportation are both better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America.

Real estate professionals see rays of light in cloudy market

Local real estate professionals discussed how to ride out a currently stormy housing market that holds promises of better times ahead at the eighth annual State of Real Estate in the Coachella Valley presentation, held today at the Doral Palm Springs Resort.

Renters Four Times More Likely to Move Than Homeowners

OCTOBER 16, 2007 -- The U.S. Census Bureau has released a series of 34 tables on the 40 million Americans who moved between 2005 and 2006, including characteristics of movers by type of move.

Antitrust Division Launches Web Site on Competition in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice launched a new Web site today to educate consumers and policymakers about the potential benefits that competition can bring to consumers of real estate brokerage services and the barriers that inhibit that competition

Natural Disaster Legislation Would Help Property Owners

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Realtors(R) supports the Homeowners' Defense Act of 2007, H.R. 3555, because it would help protect homeowners, commercial property owners, and potential property owners by ensuring the availability of adequate and affordable insurance, which NAR views as an important consumer issue.

U.S. HOUSE PRICES SLOW

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. home prices increased only slightly in the second quarter of 2007 according to the OFHEO House Price Index (HPI). The HPI, which is based on data from sales and refinance transactions, was 0.1 percent higher in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2007. This is below the revised growth rate of 0.6 percent for the previous quarter and the lowest since the fourth quarter of 1994. Prices in the second quarter of 2007 were 3.2 percent higher than they were in the same quarter of 2006, the lowest annual price change since the 1996-97 period.

Recent Gov & Nonprofit Real Estate Press Releases

The New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection Provides...

For this week’s Tuesday’s Tips, the New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection is providing safety tips to follow when using gas or charcoal grills. This Memorial Day on May 27 will mark the beginning of summer for many New Yorkers, and with it, the start of the grilling season.