Monthly Indicators U.S. existing-home sales grew 3.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the strongest sales pace since August 2023, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Falling interest rates late last year, coupled with a recent uptick in inventory, helped existing-home sales to climb following last month’s decline, with monthly gains reported in the Midwest, South, and West regions. New Listings were up 16.8 percent to 666. Pending Sales increased 9.7 percent to 473, the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Inventory grew 22.3 percent to 1,712 units. Prices...

Hello REALTORS®, Signs and sign ordinances can be beneficial to Realtors, but they also come with responsibility.  Over the last several years, your REALTORS® Association successfully lobbied for protection of signs that communicate that real property is for sale while local sign ordinances were updated across the Western Upstate.  Almost a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Gilbert, Arizona, case that signs are protected speech.  Most sign ordinances specifically exempted certain types of signs, like real estate signs.  The problem was that those ordinances were based on what the sign said, which was the basis of the...

Hello REALTORS®, Later in this report, I cover National Flood Insurance Program authorization.  Be sure to read through this report so you know what to expect this month regarding flood insurance.  But first, signs. Signs and sign ordinances can be beneficial to Realtors, but they also come with responsibility.  Over the last several years, your REALTORS® Association successfully lobbied for protection of signs that communicate that real property is for sale while local sign ordinances were updated across the Western Upstate.  Almost a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Gilbert, Arizona, case that signs are protected speech. ...