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HousingWire
In her first national interview since a Missouri jury found the real estate industry liable for colluding to artificially inflate real estate agent commissions, National Association of Realtors (NAR) president Tracy Kasper said the trade group would continue to advocate for what it feels is best for consumers. "We will continue to fight," Kasper told Kelly Evans of CNBC's The Exchange last Thursday. "We want to take care of those concerns." In the seven-minute interview, Kasper addressed the commission lawsuits and the overall housing market, telling Evans that the projected decline in mortgage rates in 2024 is good news for the real estate industry. "We have such a pent-up buyer pool that has just been waiting of the sidelines," Kasper said. "The interest rates rose so quickly that it took so many of them out of the market. We are starting to see them come back and they are going to finally start being successful." Despite the good news surrounding mortgage rates, Kasper said the inventory shortage will still be an issue in 2024. "We are seeing a normalization of the market and it is something that is very welcome," Kasper said. "The market has only increased about 4% [year-over-year] — those are the single digit increases we've been waiting for."