Front Page Articles
Fall Legislative Session Could See Action on Key RealtorŪ Issues
by Mike Theo
The state Legislature returns from their summer recess and
committee work periods to resume work on the nearly 800 separate bills
introduced in the Legislature thus far this session. A fair number of
pending and soon-to-be introduced bills are of importance to Wisconsin
Realtors. These bills include:
- Permit Processing: Streamline the state permit review and
approval process at the DNR and other key agencies.
- TIF: Enhance the tax incremental financing law to improve
one of the most successful economic development tools available to
Wisconsin communities.
- Shoreland zoning: Improve Wisconsin's shoreland zoning
laws to allow alterations on certain nonconforming structures -
including ordinary repairs and maintenance - and allow for
rebuilding of structures after fires or other natural disasters.
- Smart Growth: Revise the comprehensive land-use planning
law known as Smart Growth to address legitimate cost concerns of
smaller communities and eliminate confusing language, but oppose
efforts to repeal the law altogether.
- E-commerce: Allow for the use of transactional platforms
and e-signatures using the model federal act as a foundation.
- Commercial Broker Liens: Revise the existing law to
remove the written notice of intent requirement so the law can be
used as originally intended.
- Technical Modifications to Chapter 452: Revise the
existing real estate regulation statutes to better reflect modern
business practices, update definitions and terminology and clarify
existing ambiguities.
- Condominium Law Revisions: Support comprehensive
legislation to revise and modernize Wisconsin law governing
condominium sales and operations.
- Campaign Finance Reform: Support legislative efforts to
reform campaign financing but do so in a manner consistent with
Realtors' constitutional rights to be politically and legislatively
active.
- Uniform Taxation Law: Oppose efforts to remove the
uniform taxation requirement from the state constitution, which
would allow for taxing different forms of property at different (for
commercial and industrial property likely higher) rates.
These are just some of the many issues the WRA will be working on
for the balance of the legislative session. And as usual, we will
surely see yet-to-be introduced legislation that is bad for our
industry, our members, and our homeowners, which will require us to
mobilize to oppose. Please stay tuned to this publication and watch
your e-mail, mail and faxes for instructions and "Call to Action"
notices on key issues as they begin to move. We need your dues, your
RPAC and conduit contributions, and your active participation in
communicating with your state legislators, to insure our continued
success.
For more information, contact Michael Theo at
mtheo@wra.org.
Back to Inside This
Edition
Return to On-Line
Publications
National Registry Effective Date Delayed
The FTC will appeal a Sept. 25 federal court ruling that the
national "do not call" registry is unconstitutional. President Bush
will sign the new legislation passed by Congress on Sept. 25 to
establish authority for the FTC registry, but the Oct. 1 effective
date for telemarketers is now on hold until the commercial free speech
challenge is resolved. For the latest updates, check
www.wra.org/nocalls. This is
a fast-moving situation and the status may change from day to day.
Back to Inside This
Edition
Return to On-Line
Publications
Existing Home Sales Broke Record Again in August
WASHINGTON (September 25, 2003) - Sales of existing single-family
homes set a second consecutive monthly record in August on the heels
of record-low interest rates in June, according to the National
Association of RealtorsŪ.
Existing-home sales rose 5.5 percent in August to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate* of 6.47 million units from an upwardly revised
level of 6.13 million units in July. August's sales activity was 21.8
percent above the 5.31-million unit pace in August 2002.
David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said the two-month surge
indicates the top of the housing market's historic run. "Some of the
home sales closed in August were negotiated in June when mortgage
interest rates hit record lows," he said. "Much of the remaining
portion of sales reflect quick decisions to make offers in July when
interest rates began to rise sharply. The good news is that mortgage
interest rates have declined again."
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for
a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.26 percent in
August, up from 5.63 percent in July; it was 6.29 percent in August
2002. Freddie Mac's series began in 1971; the record low was 5.23
percent in June 2003.
NAR President Cathy Whatley, owner of Buck & Buck Inc. in
Jacksonville, Fla., said the swing in mortgage interest rates has been
somewhat of a surprise this year. "Mortgage interest rates have been
lower than projected for most of 2003, but the 30-year fixed rate
should hover between 6.0 and 6.5 percent for the rest of the year,"
she said. "We expect home sales to moderate but remain historically
strong in the coming months."
The national median existing-home price was $177,500 in August, up
9.8 percent from August 2002 when the median price was $161,700. The
median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more
and half sold for less.
Housing inventory levels at the end of August rose 4.2 percent from
July to a total of 2.46 million existing homes available for sale,
which represents a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, home resale activity in the West rose 8.0 percent from
July to a record annual rate of 1.76 million units in August and was
24.8 percent above August 2002.
The median existing-home price in the West was $241,600, up 11.7
percent from the same month a year earlier.
The existing-home sales pace in the South increased 6.5 percent in
August to a record annual rate of 2.62 million units, and was 22.4
percent higher than a year ago. The median price of an existing home
in the South was $165,300, which was 9.4 percent higher than a year
earlier.
In the Midwest, homes were reselling at a record annual rate of 1.38
million units in August, up 3.0 percent from July and 22.1 percent
above August 2002. The median price in the Midwest was $150,100, up
8.4 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 1.4 percent in August to
a record pace of 710,000 units; the sales rate was 12.7 percent higher
than a year ago. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was
$196,400, up 15.4 percent from August 2002.
The National Association of RealtorsŪ, "The Voice for Real Estate,"
is America's largest trade association, representing more than 930,000
members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real
estate industries.
*The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total
number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for
that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally
adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out
seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume
is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because
of differences in the weather and family buying patterns.
Existing-home sales, which are based on transaction closings,
differ from the U.S. Census Bureau's series on new-home sales, which
are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. In the count of
new-home sales, the house can be in any stage of construction ranging
from not started to fully complete. The count of existing-home sales
is based on completed transactions in which the home usually is ready
for occupancy. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for
each series to move in different directions in the same month. In
addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 percent
of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample and typically
are not subject to large prior-month revisions that are fairly common
in the new-home sales series.
The next existing-home sales release is scheduled for October 27,
at 10 a.m. EST. The next national outlook release is scheduled for
October 7.
Reprinted with permission from the National Association of
REALTORSŪ.
Back to Inside This
Edition
Return to On-Line
Publications
Back to Top
|
