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As 2021 ended, pending home sales tallied another month of declines in December, according to recent data from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, dropped by 3.8% in December, sliding to 117.7. All regions saw year-over-year contract signings decline as well, dipping 6.9% nationally.

After a month of rising mortgage rate increases, this week’s data shows a flattening, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Survey. The rate increases have not significantly impacted demand in the real estate market, although gradual increases are expected to continue soon. Freddie Mac suggest that now is still a good time for homeowners to refinance now.

U.S. weekly averages:

Following its acquisition of Christie’s International Real Estate in December 2021, independent real estate brokerage and technology firm @properties has rebranded to @properties Christie’s International Real Estate.

The new name applies to the firm’s company-owned offices in the greater Chicagoland area, Northwest Indiana, Southwest Michigan and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making available $4 million through HUD’s new Radon Testing and Mitigation Demonstration Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for public housing agencies (PHAs), the organization has announced.

PHAs will use the funds in public housing properties where low-income families reside. With this funding, PHAs will be able to conduct testing and, when needed, mitigation of radon in the public housing units that they manage, HUD stated.