According to CoreLogic’s Housing and Market Trends Report, the National Association of Realtors’ existing home sale reports for the past ten years have been “overstated,” and that in 2010, NAR overstated sales 15% to 20% higher than actual sales.
NAR reports home sales rose in 2009 from 2009 and fell only 5% in 2010 while CoreLogic reports a 12% drop from 2009. CoreLogic’s report states that “There are several reasons for the divergence, including benchmarking drift, more sales going through MLS systems due to consolidation and a lower share of for sale by owners (FSBO) home sales.”
CoreLogic continues by stating “Sales remain extremely low relative to the last decade as sales last year were more than 50% below the level in 2005 and about 33% below the level in 2000.”
The report states that their sales data covered 85-90% of all of NAR’s home sales data but in 2006, NAR’s sales data diverged from CoreLogic, MBA, HMDA and the Census, “and that trend has continued and become more pronounced through 2010.”
The National Association of Realtors today released a Q&A about their data and revealed that to calculate their numbers, they gather “sales data from numerous MLSs, with a reporting sample of about 40 percent.”
Responding in kind to the report, NAR notes that CoreLogic data “comes from courthouse recordings. It makes some assumptions about non-covered areas. Because of improved electronic recordings, it claims to capture more data and more quickly than in the past. Right now, CoreLogic and NAR data differ. However, it is unclear which is more accurate. Only a new benchmarking with 2010 Census can resolve the issue.”
Data accuracy has been a hot topic in the real estate industry for some time and awareness has been heightened by non-traditional media as Realtors and consumers in the research era seek the best data possible.
AG is not affiliated with NAR or CoreLogic.
