Brace yourself for a bumpy ride and take advantage of trying times

I recently reviewed NAR's latest report and projections on the national housing market. Like most of you, I also follow the immense amount of news about the housing market and discuss this increasingly hot topic with others on a daily basis.

I'm generally cautious when people ask me to gaze into my crystal ball and predict what the local housing market may do in the coming months. But lately, I've been telling them to brace themselves for what figures to be a bumpy ride along the bottom.

This is the general conclusion I draw from following our own GLVAR statistics on the housing market here in Southern Nevada. Our latest statistics show declines in home sales and prices and a slight increase in inventory.

We're seeing similar trends in national statistics tracked by the NAR and others.

In August, the NAR released its report of pending home sales, which edged down during this period. NAR's report suggests that national home sales are expected to be notably lower in the coming months compared to the spring – when sales surged as buyers rushed to take advantage of the federal homebuyer tax credit.

You can view NAR's Pending Home Sales Index at www.realtor.org/research/research/phsdata. This forward-looking indicator declined 2.6 percent to 75.7 based on contracts signed in June. That's down from an upwardly revised level of 77.7 in May. It's also 18.6 percent below June 2009, when it was 93.0.

This data reflects contracts, not closings, which normally occur after a lag time of one or two months.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said fewer home sales are expected in the short term, but added that sales could pick up later this year if the job market improves.

Of course, local experts aren't so optimistic about the short-term prospects for Nevada's economy, which currently has the nation's highest unemployment rate.

It may not be the best of news for the next few months, but at least most experts are predicting better times around the corner.

Meanwhile, I think we should all deal with these trying times by finding ways to be more creative and efficient. Remember that it's times like these that make consumers value our expertise, realize the distinction between a real estate agent and a REALTOR® and make us all appreciate the value of GLVAR as an organization.

Mark your calendars for Nov. 5-8. That's when this year's REALTORS® Conference and Expo returns to New Orleans in "NARdiGras" style. Join thousands of REALTORS® from across the country in New Orleans for four days of work and play.

You can take advantage of more than 125 educational sessions taught by top real estate professionals and attend our industry's largest real estate expo, all designed to enhance your success. Of course, there will also be plenty of networking opportunities.

As an added bonus, your full conference registration for this year's event allows you to download a complete set of educational session recordings available after the event. I encourage you all to attend if you can.