Speaking before the Miami Association of Realtors International Congress, National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, referring to home sales, said, “Next year will be about the same as this year in terms of sales activity,” although prices will rise six percent, as a shortage of homes for sale continues to drive prices up. The worldpropertychannel reports the total value of sales will also rise six percent. As building costs increase, the price of new homes will rise faster than existing homes, and new home construction is expected to rise 24 percent in 2014. However, MHProNews understands housing starts will continue to be a far cry from the 1.5 annual million new homes of historical levels.

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