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Stephen Melman, J.D., is the Director of Economic Services at the National Association of Home Builders. Mr. Melman is a spokesman for NAHB’s forecast of new housing trends and the analysis of the home building industry. He has published numerous research articles on topics including industry structure and publicly traded builders. Before his current position, Mr. Melman was responsible for NAHB’s multifamily and federal housing program initiatives. Prior to NAHB, Mr. Melman was an Appeals Officer for the US Civil Service Commission in Washington, DC. He is a former president of Sinai House, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing for homeless families in Washington, DC. Mr. Melman earned a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law, a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, and a B.A. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.

• Existing Sales Up, Inventory Down

  By Stephen Melman on February 22, 2012 • (0)

  

  Existing home sales increased 4.3 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted level of 4.57 million units. That level is 0.7 percent above the January 2011 seasonally adjusted annual rate, and is the third increase over the past four months. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the seasonally adjusted sales of existing homes (comprised of completed transactions of… Read More ›

  Tags: economics, Existing Home Sales, homebuilding, housing

• Pending Home Sales Decline in December

  By Stephen Melman on January 25, 2012 • (0)

  

  Pending home sales fell in December after reaching a 19-month high. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 3.5% decrease in the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) in December, declining to 96.6 from 100.1 as revised in November. The December level is 5.6% above the level of a year ago.  Across the regions, the PHSI increased 4.0% in the… Read More ›

  Tags: existing sales, pending sales

• Strong Increase in Existing Home Sales

  By Stephen Melman on January 20, 2012 • (0)

  

  Existing home sales continued to grow on a month-to-month basis in December, rising for a third consecutive month. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported sales of existing homes comprised of completed transactions of single-family, townhouses, condominiums and coops rose 5.0 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million. This is an increase from the downwardly… Read More ›

  Tags: economics, Existing Home Sales