Lawrence Yun Quotations

Sellers are stubborn. It takes a long time for sellers to adjust their expectations.

So long as the South remains affordable and the number of available jobs remains steady we forecast continued growth in Atlanta.

Obviously, many renters have become homeowners as rates have fallen.

I am confident in saying Atlanta will continue to see growth over the next year. The Atlanta area is less sensitive to changes in the housing market right now.

What we had in the past couple of years was an unprecedented frenzy of activity. That's what we're seeing: A decline from a frenzied, unsustainable rate.

People are moving out of these regions to the South and the West. They're putting more supply on the market at the same time there is less demand.

People have been saying that for 20 years. But in San Francisco, it's very difficult to build, so there's a supply constraint. Seattle is also encountering a supply-constraint situation.

Nationwide, the numbers clearly indicate the market is cooling, but cooling from the record sales pace in 2005. Now, we're experiencing what we characterize as healthy levels.

We have been monitoring several markets where there could be significant stress due to the market correction. Chicago is not on that list.

The strong rise in prices cut into affordability, even with the low rates.

The supply of homes is very tight for new and existing homes. We will continue to see healthy home-price appreciation. For non-home owners, that's bad news. But for home owners, that's building wealth.

Prices have doubled in some Florida markets over the past four or five years, so the 10 percent increase we're forecasting for the state this year might seem kind of small compared to recent trends.

Our experience says prices do not go down when there's job creation in the local economy. In local markets where they are flat on jobs, they could see prices decline. But we're projecting 2.3 million new jobs this year. The job market is providing a buffer. It's a counter force to rising rates.

A cut...won't affect the 30-year fixed mortgage rate at all. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate was 6.8 percent last week, and we think it'll stay about the same. But another interest rate cut could mean a slight drop in the short-term one-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).

A typical household in the past two years saw about a $20,000 gain in equity. That's not an insignificant chunk. Homeowners see that wealth and use it to buy additional goods.

You're seeing two separate markets. One is in the coastal regions where you're seeing a substantial decline in home sales. The second is in the middle part of the country, in the affordable regions, where the job market is more important than interest rates.

You need a strong job market with people in their 20s moving out of their parents' homes before rents recover.

Any time there's job creation, historically prices don't go down.

The larger declines were recorded in the high-priced markets that are more sensitive to mortgage rate changes.

In the Midwest, where homes are very affordable and where home prices have risen much slower than the national average, sales are more dependent on job growth in the overall economy.

Home-buying is not a snap decision -- people mentally prepare for it and search for homes, and this is a three-to-four-month process. Plus, even with the rise in mortgage rates, they're still below last year's figure and still close to 45-year lows.

I feel comfortable with that, although 40 percent would be in the upper end of possibility. As for the lower end, getting double-digit appreciation will be an easy task for Seattle.

The market clearly has some legs left. Buyers who were sitting on the fence, hoping mortgage rates would decline, have decided to make the move now.

All housing market indicators are pointing to a move away from the frenzied record sales pace to, I would say, a more healthy rate of activity.

The housing market is shifting away from the record-breaking pace of last year to a more sustainable pace.

The housing market is certainly shifting away from a record-breaking pace.