Associations

Real estate brokers are “detecting indecisiveness by some buyers who are getting mixed ‘work from home’ messages from their employers,” according to a report by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This hesitancy, coupled with cooler, wetter weather and

Atlanta’s Rodney Mason, who serves as vice president of mortgage lending with Guaranteed Rate, was named treasurer of the nonprofit, while Anita Blue, who works as an agent and credit restoration consultant at Cap Tex Realty, was named national vice president.

At 37 years old, the new president will be the second-youngest leader of the national nonprofit trade organization, which works to improve the homeownership rate in the Asian-American Pacific Islander community.

Mark your calendars. The annual Battle of the Barristers on Oct. 7, promises to be fun and informative.

In a recent survey conducted by Seattle King County REALTORS, housing affordability was the number one advocacy priority.

Real estate agents are crediting educational offerings — both in-person and virtual/on-line learning — for boosting their business success, according to a recent member survey conducted by Seattle King County REALTORS®.

International buyers purchased 107,000 residential properties from April 2020 through March 2021, marking a 31% decline from the 154,000 residences bought the previous year.

The association endorsed a letter to Seattle City Council that says parishioners in communities of color will “suffer under the weight of soaring rents and unequal access to housing.”

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

The COVID pandemic has caused a shakeup in where, and how, many people work. That has helped propel a thriving housing market.

Year over year, however, pending home sales were up 57.1%, the NAR said, citing its monthly Pending Home Sales Index.

Existing-home sales slid for the third month in a row in April, declining 2.7% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.85 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A recent NAHB survey shows that regulatory costs imposed by the government account for $93,870 (or 23.8%) of the current price of new homes.

Builder confidence was steady in May, carrying over April’s reading of 83 for another month, according to the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Whether they’re still weary of going to a gym full of people or just looking to work off those extra pandemic pounds in privacy, homebuyers are increasingly prioritizing home exercise rooms.

“This is a sign that the competitive purchase market, driven by low housing inventory and high demand, is pushing prices higher and weighing down on activity.” — Mortgage Bankers Association Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan