Problem: The Texas A & M University Real Estate Center collects home listings data in Texas. One of the metrics is the number of months a home is listed until it sells (Texas A & M University, n.d.). A stagnant home listing is not beneficial to anyone in the process, typically impacting the individuals selling their dwellings the most. Opportunities to reduce the wait-time-to-sales for a particular home will reduce the potentially negative impact on the individuals selling their homes. 

Question: Using the data consolidated by Texas A & M University (n.d.), what predictors represent the majority of the explainable variance when predicting the number of months a property will remain in inventory considering the quantity of real estate sales, the monetary value of those sales, and the average sale price, the median sale price, and the quantity of properties in the inventory, the year, and the month in the data set? Objective: Use a random forest model as the analysis method to answer the research question. Additionally, consider how this research may help a realtor reduce the amount of time that their listings remain in their inventory when you discuss and present your findings. Please note: If the work is completed individually, each student in residency will come to different conclusions. 

Data: • Texas A & M University. (n.d.) Housing activity report. Real Estate Center. Retrieved July 1, 2020, from https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/data/housing-activity/#!/activity/State/Texas • The data set is provided as an xlsx file type labeled Data for Assignment in the same folder as these instructions. Requirements for this data analysis project: • The focus will not include “using R,” “using RStudio,” or any other reference to programming. • Make sure to submit all files necessary to make the program fully functioning. • All analyses require meaningful interpretations. Your programming should align with the findings. • Submit the script file .r file type and the slides for the presentation to the submission point labeled Presentation – Makeup Assignment • 

Document your findings in a research paper using the documentation information in the Documenting Research Guide. Submit the research paper to the submission point labeled Paper – Makeup Assignment 1010/20 Residency INDIVIDUAL Assignment 1.docx P a g e | 2 Reporting your research: • This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment. 

• Your presentation shall be 10 minutes in length. Practice it! • This research will be presented. • Considerations for presenting information: o The amount of slide content o Organization o Interaction of the presenters • When developing your slides, ensure that you cover the stages of research documentation from the course. Use the Documenting Research Guide for more information. o Why are you telling me this? (topic) o What are you telling me for? (problem) o How are you going to do this? (research questions – do not have to be in the form of a question) o Method – the design or high-level plan • DO NOT forget to cite and reference your sources in APA 7.