?EUR??,,????'??Right now, home sales are a little lower than projected, but they can be sustained around current levels,?EUR??,,????'?? David Lereah, NAR?EUR??,,????'???s chief economist said. ?EUR??,,????'??Sometimes people lose sight of the fact that real estate is cyclical. Even so, sales will continue at a historically high pace with modestly higher interest rates as the year progresses, and 2006 is forecast to be the third strongest year on record.?EUR??,,????'??

According to the NAR, existing-home sales are likely to decline 4.7 percent to 6.74 million this year, down from a record 7.07 million units in 2005, while new-home sales are expected to fall 8.5 percent to 1.17 million from a record 1.28 million in 2005; both sectors would see their third best year after the totals for 2005 and 2004. Housing starts are seen at 1.87 million units in 2006, down 9.3 percent from 2.06 million last year.

In addition, the NAR predicts the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to rise to 6.9 percent by the end of the year.

?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s easy to understand that sellers have taken it for granted that it would be fairly easy to sell without much compromise during the recent sales boom,?EUR??,,????'?? NAR President Thomas M. Stevens said. ?EUR??,,????'??Now that buyers have more choices, it?EUR??,,????'???s even more important for sellers to seek advice from real estate professionals.?EUR??,,????'??