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Ž January showed the first increase of the RMCI after 14 straight months of decreases. Ž January was the 10th straight month that the RPCI has gone down. Ž January was the second time the RPCI has been at 70 or higher since August 2014. Measured on a 100-point scale, a score of 50 is the midpoint between a "strong" (100 points) and a "weak" (0 points) market condition. "With sales up in December to close out the year, Realtors felt more positive about the market going into the new year," Fitzgerald says. "Realtors were experiencing the buyer demand in January, and that activity was reflected in the Indexes. But they also understand that the weather will play a role in the sales process going forward." Monthly Hot Topic Question The January "Hot Topic" question (which was posed prior to the Super Bowl) asked Realtors whether they thought a win by the New England Patriots would have a positive impact on buyer activity in the weeks following the big ga me. Of those Rea ltors who responded, 40 percent responded that a Patriots win would have either a significant positive impact (6 percent) or a somewhat positive impact (34 percent). Fifty-nine percent responded there would be no impact and 1 percent thought there would be a somewhat negative response. No respondents answered there would be a significant negative impact. About the Data Sets Pending sales — The tracking of signed purchase and sales a g reements (a lso ca l led "pending sa les") prov ides reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months. A pending sale or a sale "under agreement" happens when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such.¬MAR is the only organization that compiles this statewide information from multiple listing services each month. Monthly pending (or under agreement) data and closed sales data come from the three Realtor-a‰liated multiple listing services in Massachusetts. They are the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service; Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, Inc.; and MLS Property Information Network, Inc. The data is compiled by 10K Research and Marketing, Inc. and updated each month. As a result, previous data may change after the reports have been run. The Realtor Index Methodology —"The Massachusetts Realtor Market Conf idence Index (R MCI) and Price Conf idence Index (RPCI) are based on monthly responses from a random sampling of MAR members on the state of the housing market. More specifically, the survey asks members two basic questions pertaining to the real estate business in their market area in Massachusetts. 1. How would you describe the current housing market? 2. What are your expectations of home prices over the next year? In addition to these standard questions, the survey each month includes one wild card question that changes each month and is based on an industry hot topic. The RMCI is calculated in the following way.¬Respondents indicate whether conditions are, or are expected to be "strong" (100 points), "moderate" (50 points), or "weak" (0 points).¬The results are the average score for each question.¬A score of 50 is the threshold between a "strong" and a "weak" condition.¬Similarly, the question about home prices over the next year (Realtor Price Confidence Index) is calculated using five categories: "Rise 0–5%" (75 points), "Rise 5%+" (100 points), "Level" (50 points), "Fall 0–5%" (25 points), and "Fall >5%" (0 points).¬ About MAR Organized in 1924, the MAR is a professional trade organization with more than 19,000 members.¬The term Realtor is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of Realtors who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs. ■ PO Box 0458, Stow, MA 01775 • 978.562.4630 • www.raynor4doors.com Photography: Home Listing photography Lynch MetroWest Garage Door Builder: Bernstein Development Congratulations on being chosen "Builder of the Month" | Greater Boston Builder+Architect BOSTON.BUILDERARCHITECT.COM

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