Market Upturn Predicted Second Half of Year

Although existing-home sales have been soft since the beginning of this year, they are expected to improve notably during the second half of 2008, according to a forecast by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR). Statistics suggest a sizeable pent-up demand for homes, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, which will be released into the marketplace as excessive home-buyer pessimism about the market begins to subside.

“Ever since the credit crunch last year home sales have noticeably declined,” says Yun. “Subprime lending accounted for 20 percent of the market, and that suddenly disappeared last August. For brokers, these have been tough times, but given that we have historically low mortgage rates, I believe we’ll see an increase in sales the second half of the year.”