ARROYO GRANDE, CA—Low inventory remains a challenge in thesingle-family home market, yet realtors remainoptimistic. So says a Realtor Productivity Study of MultipleListing Service activity, conducted by the WAVGroup and sponsored by the National Association ofRealtors' wholly owned subsidiary, RealtorsProperty Resource.

The study, which tapped into about 150 MLS representing nearly335,000 realtors, found that 29% of respondents consideredthemselves “very optimistic,” with the remainder countingthemselves as “cautiously optimistic.” This despite the fact that40% of realtors didn't close a single transaction during the firstsix months of 2014; ergo, 60% of the group did 100% of the businessduring that time.

?“We thought the numbers would reflect the 80/20 rule,” says WAVfounding partner Marilyn Wilson, who oversaw thestudy for RPR. “In reality, it looks like a new 60% rule isthe true standard for real estate.”