Daily News 6/22/2015
June 22, 2015
Monday – June 22
The National Association of REALTORS® reported on Monday that May Existing Home Sales rose 5.1% from April to an annualized rate of 5.35 million units, the highest pace in nearly six years. The biggest gains were seen in the Northeast, while all major regions experienced sales increases in May. The gains were due in part by an increase in the share of sales to first time home buyers. “Solid sales gains were seen throughout the country in May as more homeowners listed their home for sale and therefore provided greater choices for buyers,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
Home sales in May revved up as reported by the RE/MAX National Housing Report. Completed transactions rose by nearly 9% in May from April’s level and 3.5% higher than May 2014. Across the nation, 38 of the 53 metro areas tracked by RE/MAX reported higher sales year-over-year, with 11 reported as double digit increases. Reasons cited for the positive numbers include both job growth and slowly wages, rents are quickly increasing, while mortgages are becoming more accessible.
According to a recent report released by the Economic Policy Institute, chief executive officer (CEOs) made 303 times as much as the average worker in 2014. CEO salaries for the largest firms on average rose to $16.3 million in 2014, up nearly 4% from last year and up a whopping 55% since the end of the Great Recession in 2009. Within the report it showed that since 1978, inflation adjusted CEO pay soared 997%, while the average worker saw an 11% increase in the same time period.
