What to expect now that Standard & Poor’s has downgraded U.S. debt to AA-plus from AAA?
chief economist
Inflation is Picking Up
Inflation is creeping up everywhere. Rather than reacting to volatile swings, however, the focus should be on a broader calculation that includes food and energy prices. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun offers his analysis of the inflation picture and near-term trends. Read More >
Second-home Market Holds Steady
The market share of vacation- and investment-home sales held steady in 2010, although the sales volume declined with the overall market. NAR’s™ 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2010, shows vacation-home sales accounted for 10 percent of transactions last year while the portion of investment sales was 17 percent, both unchanged from 2009. “A sizeable number of buyers made deals with all-cash offerings,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Home Sales Drop After Seeing Gains
Existing-home sales fell 9.6 percent in February percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million, from an upwardly revised 5.40 million in January, NAR says. The sales rate is 2.8 percent below this time last year. “Housing affordability conditions have been at record levels and the economy has been improving, but home sales are being constrained by the problems of unnecessarily tight credit and continuing appraisal problems,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says.
