Free Republic

WASHINGTON, February 25, 2009 Existing-home sales declined in January with some buyers waiting to see how details of the economic stimulus package would affect them, according to the National Association of Realtors®. At the same time, inventories fell to a two-year low. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.49 million units in January from a level of 4.74 million units in December, and are 8.6 percent lower the 4.91 million-unit pace in January 2008. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there was understandable hesitation by some...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The white bus rumbles into the quiet suburban neighborhood, heading toward a foreclosed home that sits empty. Neighbors, young and old, cock their heads in curiosity or point at the slow-moving coach. Once the vehicle stops, about 20 potential buyers file out and become detectives, opening and closing cabinets and drawers, knocking on walls and asking about the price, the previous owners and what repairs may be needed. Welcome to the Foreclosure Bus Tour, a six-hour expedition to show Orlando-area homes and educate potential buyers on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2007 – As the national Christmas tree, cut from Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest, makes its way to Washington, it’s going to spread some holiday spirit at veterans facilities along the way, thanks to the National Association of Realtors. Local realtors will make donations to veterans shelters or a veterans housing fund at each stop on behalf of the organization, Mary Trupo, an NAR spokeswoman, said. The Vermont Association of Realtors also is making donations. “As soon as we heard (about the stops at veterans facilities), we jumped on board to be a part of it,” she...

Down, but not out: "I'm not a real estate bum," Realtors say Brokers in Clearwater area waterfront property, that thin but rich slice of the real estate pie, were among the elite earners until about a year ago. Six-figure pay days were a matter of course as home prices, powered by speculative purchases, doubled and tripled. But these days the waterfront runs red. By James Thorner, Times Staff Writer Published August 26, 2007 Like an operator working a buzzing switchboard, Liz Seither deftly juggles the two phones that never stop ringing in her kitchen. The 67-year-old Clearwater Realtor's eyes are...

WASHINGTON - Plummeting stock prices. Mortgage lenders filing for bankruptcy or shutting down. Layoffs at homebuilders and banks. Soaring foreclosures and loan defaults. Damage from the nation's slumping housing market is evident throughout the economy and permeates financial markets. Add real estate agents to the growing list of victims, although they know few tears will be shed for them. The National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade. The group ended 2006 with nearly 1.4 million members — almost double the roughly 716,000 it had in 1997 — but expects...

CLAREMONT - There will not be a sequel to the mini-scandal known in some circles as "Flag-gate." Claraboya residents, many of whom were engaged in a fierce neighborhood dispute over tiny American flags during last year's Fourth of July season, have pledged to behave themselves this year. Tom and Nancy Telford, the two neighborhood real estate agents who planted flags last year in their neighbors' front yards with Nancy Telford's business card attached, left off the business cards this year, and mailed out a postcard to their neighbors giving them an advance opportunity to decline a flag. Last year, after...

NAR: CBS News Magazine Misses the Mark In the world of political campaigns, it's a standard ploy to set the stage with an empty chair when one candidate refuses to debate his opponents. The CBS show 60 Minutes gave the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® the empty chair treatment in a May 13 segment that examined the impact of online brokerages on the real estate industry. The show featured interviews with a representative from the now-defunct eRealty and the president and CEO of Redfin, but no one from NAR, even though NAR twice offered and prepared association spokespersons for interviews with...

I apologize for the Vanity post but know that there are some real estate professionals on FR. I have never used a realtor before- our current home was FSBO and a quick and easy transaction. Here is the scenario that I am seeking opinions on: We now have two small children and our quaint Arts and Crafts bungalow is rapidly becoming too small. It was perfect before we had children and we would spend part of the year at a family home in the UK. We have found a larger (2500 sq ft) recent construction (purchased but lived in for...

Single-family home sales and prices in Massachusetts fell 1.5 percent in March, capping a first quarter in which sales slowed dramatically from the previous year... ''Inventory is at record highs, so buyers are taking their time," said David Wluka, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. ''They can pick among several houses so they don't feel the pressure." The slowdown in Massachusetts' housing market ran counter to a surprising pick-up in March in nationwide sales of homes, condominiums, and townhouses. Analysts had predicted that strong February sales... The housing market in Massachusetts ''simply isn't as strong as it is in...

A Lakewood senator peeved that a real estate organization endorsed her Republican opponent in her last election demanded the group pay her $1,400 in "reparations." Sen. Deanna Hanna, a Democrat, said Thursday that she did nothing wrong, but the leader of the Senate Republicans called it "extortion." Hanna said the Jefferson County Realtors Association in 2004 announced it would not endorse any candidate in the Senate race, but the state group then contributed at least $1,400 to her opponent. "The point is I got screwed in the process and I was upset I was treated so shabbily," Hanna said. "They...

To: National Desk, Congressional Correspondent, Real Estate Reporter Contact: Linda M. Johnson of National Association of Realtors(r), 202-383-7536 or lmjohnson@realtors.org SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), addressing Realtors(r) at a forum here, said the current endangered species law needs reform because it is failing the habitats and the species its supposed to protect. Cardoza also updated Realtors(r) on other federal issues at a legislative and political forum held yesterday during the REALTORS(r) Conference & Expo here, Oct. 28-31. Cardoza has cosponsored legislation with Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) that balances the need to protect endangered...

The Internet has revolutionized the marketplace by, among other things, eliminating middlemen. Internet car-buying services let you shop for prices and options without leaving home. "For sale by owner" websites show you houses for sale. Uh oh. Can't have that, can we? In a truly free market, businesses can't kill competition, because they can't use force. Unfortunately, in our "mixed economy," they can get their friends in politics to use force to stifle competition. Adam Smith saw it all the way back in 1776. In "The Wealth of Nations," he wrote, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even...

...[I]n almost every other consumer industry-- booksellers, retailers, home appliances, insurance, banking, stock brokers-- the introduction of Internet and discount sellers has been a phenomenal financial benefit to customers.... Economists call this process of squeezing out transaction costs "disintermediation." If any industry is ripe for this, it is the $70 billion-a-year real estate brokerage market. Yes, fees have fallen modestly to about 5.1% on average in recent years. But a new study... concludes that in an unimpeded free market, fees should be dropping much faster -- particularly amid a real estate boom that has doubled home values over the past...

A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding eminent domain has Realtors and others in the housing industry on alert as advocates for individual property rights. In what has been called a surprise ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, sided with local government at the expense of private property owners in a highly visible case, Kelo v. New London, Conn. While the ruling is based on what is allowed in Connecticut law and doesn't set a federal standard, it has raised important property rights issues because it is viewed as weakening the definition of "public use."...

BELMONT SHORE, Calif. -- Some realtors in the South Bay are very upset over an advertisement by a fellow agent. A billboard standing in Belmont Shore advertising a realtor shows a photo of a woman in a bikini, with her dog. The woman in the bikini is realtor Wendy Heath. The 34-year-old mother said hits on her agency's Web site have spiked 400 percent since the billboard went up earlier this month. Other realtors said it is not very dignified and does nothing to promote the professionalism of their industry.

oday President Bush spoke to a gathering of the National Association of Realtors at a hotel in Washington, he also met with the Stamford women's volleyball team in the White House, as well as the Indiana University men's soccer Team, and the Cal State Fullerton baseball team, all were 2004 NCAA champions.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators are preparing to sue the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over policies they believe will illegally restrict commission discounting and harm online competitors, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The effort by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission aims to protect buyers and sellers of homes and could help contain high real-estate costs in a booming housing market, the newspaper said.

I'm active duty military displaced between duty stations and was under contract to by a house. My pregnant wife and 3 year old son are living in a cramped hotel room. The seller, one week away from the closing date and after a conference with God has decided to pull out of the contract. What recourse do I have? Does he HAVE to sell because he's under contract? Can I sue for lodging expenses, food and sundry items due to his prolonging of my homelessness? Please Help!! (I'm in Georgia, if that helps you lawyer types)