MND NewsWire : NAR

Commercial Activity Weak, May Not Start Recovery Until Mid-2010

Patrick McGee — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:05:49 GMT

Activity in commercial real estate continued to decline in the second quarter, pushing activity to its lowest level in 15 years, an industry survey said. The Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity, which has been tracking the industry since 1990, softened by 1.3% between April and June to a score of 101.5, the lowest level since the first months of 1994. That’s nearly 14% below levels seen last year....(read more)

Gain in Pending Home Sales Suggests Stabilization

Patrick McGee — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:38:00 GMT

The Pending Home Sales Index rose more than expected with a 3.2% advance in March, against forecasts that it would be unchanged after a revised 2.0% gain in February. The index now stands at 84.6. Annually, pending sales have risen 1.1% since March 2008. The index, released by the National Association of Realtors, gives some hope that the housing market may be stabilizing, and NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said momentum could build up in the coming months. “We need several months of sustained...(read more)

Pace of U.S. Existing Home Sales Rises 6.5% to 4.74 Million Units in December

CEP News Feed — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:18:50 GMT

The pace of sales for existing homes in the United States came in much better than market expectations in December, according to an industry survey released Monday. Existing home sales rose to an annualized pace of 4.74 million units in December, marking...(read more)

Decline in U.S. Pending Home Sales Picks Up in November

CEP News Feed — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:49:00 GMT

An index looking at pending home sales in the U.S. picked up its pace of decline in November, the National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday. U.S. pending home sales fell more than expected with a 4.0% decline in November. The index now stands...(read more)

Commercial Real Estate Market Investment on Hold as Bank Lending Dries Up

CEP News Feed — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:16:07 GMT

Investments in commercial real estate in the U.S. have all but stalled as bank lending for commercial real estate has dried up, according to the National Association of Realtors ( NAR ). "Although access to residential mortgages has improved, the...(read more)

Pending Home Sales Tumble Below Forecasts in October

CEP News Feed — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:32:53 GMT

An index looking at pending transactions for the sale of existing homes eased against a deteriorating economic backdrop but remain in a stable range, according to an industry group on Tuesday. U.S. pending home sales tumbled by less than expectations...(read more)

NAR Commercial Leading Indicator Weakens, Projecting Further Declines

CEP News Feed — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:19:00 GMT

A leading indicator for the U.S. commercial real estate market continued decelerating for the fifth consecutive quarter on Thursday, with all components of the index lower in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)....(read more)

Home Prices, Existing Sales Continued to Decline in Q3, Says NAR

CEP News Feed — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:55:05 GMT

Home prices continued to fall in a majority of U.S. metropolitan areas in the third quarter, while existing home sales were also down in 32 states, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. In the third quarter, median single-family home...(read more)

Realtors Ask Feds for Reduction in Owner-Occupancy Ratio

Jann Swanson — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:34:09 GMT

The National Association of Realtors® ( NAR ) recently called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ) and the Federal Housing Finance Administration ( FHFA ) to reduce the owner-occupied ratio requirement for condominium complexes . In letters to HUD Secretary Steven C. Preston and James B. Lockhart, III, Director of FHFA, NAR President Gaylord asked that the two agencies reduce the current requirement that 51 percent of individual units within a condo development be owner...(read more)

Preview: Economists Say Pending Home Sales Data Could be Misleading

CEP News Feed — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:54:03 GMT

Pending home sales are expected to have declined in September compared to the previous release. September and October have been critical times in the 14-month credit crisis, and it's unclear whether the index will capture the impact of the turmoil...(read more)

NAR Presents Four-Point Stimulus Proposal

Jann Swanson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:53:44 GMT

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) stayed right on message as it proposed a four-point plan for Congress to enact to resuscitate the housing market and including yet another plea to keep banks out of the real estate business. The plan, revealed in a statement made late last week and in the NAR President's Podcast released on October 21, calls for a special "lame-duck" session of Congress and asks that it consider the following, what it calls "consumer-driven"...(read more)

Economists Say Soaring Pending Home Sales Don't Point to Bottom Just Yet

CEP News Feed — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:09:44 GMT

Economists say the surprise gain in U.S. pending home sales in August doesn't mean the worst times in the housing market are over, but the advance in sales is at least a step in the right direction. U.S. pending home sales unexpectedly soared by 7...(read more)

Pending Home Sales Soar 7.4% in August

CEP News Feed — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:34:54 GMT

Pending home sales unexpectedly soared by 7.4% in August , according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Wednesday. The advance is the largest monthly gain in almost seven years, and follows a 2.7% decline in July and a 5.8% rebound in June...(read more)

Interest Group and State Regulators Express Opinions on Bailout

Jann Swanson — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Housing and banking special interest groups as well as a group that represents state level banking regulators have weighed in with their opinions and concerns about the banking bailout proposal which is rolling out piecemeal from the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury. Two of the groups are less than happy with portions of the proposed policies.

On the neutral to positive side of the comments, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said on Monday that it supported "the ongoing bipartisan efforts to address the current crisis in the financial and secondary markets."

NAR President Richard Gaylord said, "Many securities are being valued at pennies on the dollar due to the very high leverage ratio and illiquidity of certain mortgage-backed securities. Unrealistically low valuations are paralyzing the balance sheets of financial institutions and have hindered liquidity flow.

"Responsible government intervention will restore a functioning market benefiting homeowners, those who wish to buy a home, financial institutions, the economy and ultimately the taxpayers. We support efforts to stabilize financial markets to allow rational valuation of assets, expedite refinancing and relief efforts for homeowners, and other measures to reestablish a level of confidence in the housing credit markets. NAR will work diligently with Congress and the administration to achieve these goals as well as the broader goal of reforming the housing finance system."

The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) also expressed their support and offered help in crafting the final bailout package. Speaking for the NAHB, executive vice president and CEO Jerry Howard said that policymakers must realize the root causes of the current crisis - falling home prices, mounting foreclosures and a frozen credit market - must be addressed now and that any plan must get to the heart of the problem to successfully stabilize mortgage markets and home prices and restore confidence in global financial markets. Ensuring that credit-worthy home buyers, builders and other small businesses have access to credit is absolutely essential to putting this economy back on track.

Two other groups, however, expressed reservations about the current proposals and offered suggestions for Congress to consider in formulating the final bailout package.

The Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Chief Operating Officer John A. Courson first applauded the expected effects of Treasury Secretary Paulson's actions. In a statement released last Friday Courson said; "The moves Secretary Paulson announced today to increase GSE and Treasury purchases of mortgage-backed securities should provide support for mortgage rates. The fear was that the illiquidity in the financial markets we have seen this week would have reversed the recent drops in mortgage rates.

"The broader steps outlined by Treasury are aimed at ending the further meltdown in the financial markets and are designed to minimize the resulting impact of the market turmoil on the broader economy. It is another step in the long-term process of restoring a balance between the supply and demand for housing in a number of markets and thus addressing the continuing problem of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.

A second statement by Courson was issued on Monday in reaction to early drafts of Secretary Paulson's plan to purchase distressed mortgage assets. Courson said that he recognized that the Treasury Departments proposal was in its formulation state and that there are regulatory issues to be addressed, "we are nonetheless disappointed," he said, "that some legislators have decided this is an opportunity to tack on their favorite pet items. The markets need this facility and they need it fast."

He specifically criticized the revival of the bankruptcy cram down controversy and, calling it "irrelevant to the current discussion," said it "runs counter to the bi-partisan efforts to restore liquidity to the global capital markets. Once the fund purchases the distressed mortgages, he said, it doesn't need a bankruptcy judge to rewrite the loan balance. It can write down the loan balance itself, without Congress giving bankruptcy judges that authority.

"This is a time that requires strong leadership. It is not the time to revisit ancillary proposals that have been debated and defeated, like bankruptcy cram down. We would encourage both parties and both chambers to set aside the issues that will only bog down the process and pass a clean bill that will stabilize the markets and help keep families in their homes without permanently damaging the real estate finance system."

On Monday the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, and Ranking Members Rep. Spencer Bachus and Sen. Richard Shelby expressing concern that the Treasury Department's plan will have a negative effect on the safety and soundness and long-term competitive posture of community and regional banks.

The letter complained that investment banks and very large retail banks appear to benefit the most from the plan even though they "have far greater culpability in the mortgage mess." On the other hand, community and regional banks, which the conference said did not generally participate in high risk lending or the securitization of these loans, "have been greatly impacted by the resulting slow down in the economy, sustained significant losses relative to their holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock, and now face the prospect of large bank competitors eliminating their bad assets and investment firms competing directly for funds with federally insured higher yielding money market accounts. In fact, if unaddressed, without offsetting provisions, the Treasury's intervention to address systemic failure will cause collateral damage that could devastate our community banking industry."

CSBS asked that Congress, in evaluating Treasury's plan consider five suggestions to preserve community and regional banks.

All changes should be temporary to allow Congress more time to address the issues directly.
Community and regional banks should also be provided with the opportunity to sell problem loans to the government. In many instances, the ability to move a few construction or commercial real estate loans will return community and regional banks to a more stable and profitable condition. There should be a set aside of part of the proposed $700 billion designated for purchasing the distressed assets of community and regional banks.
The inequity of "too big too fail" treatment and the need to protect the payment system should be addressed by providing the FDIC with more flexibility under prompt corrective action, suspending broker deposit rules, and providing full deposit insurance coverage for demand deposits (this will be especially important for small and medium sized businesses).
Money market mutual funds should be insured under an FDIC-like administrative process subject to the same limits and industry funding requirements as required of insured depositories.
It is not the time for regulatory reform. This deserves the "thoughtful deliberation" of Congress outside of a crisis environment.

Existing Home Sales Fall 2.2% to 4.91 Million in August

CEP News Feed — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:12:56 GMT

Existing home sales fell slightly more than expected to an annualized pace of 4.91 million units in August, a 2.2% decrease in the month, following July's upwardly revised sales figure of 5.02 million. Even with a bigger loss than expected, the range...(read more)