I’m seeing less stridently negative headlines these days; how about you? Not so much doom and gloom; a bit more moderate. That in itself is what I consider good news!
We’ve all made lifestyle adjustments -- cutting back or eliminating non-essential spending, hiding the credit cards and paying cash, maybe even refinanced a mortgage loan into a lower rate to save a few hundred dollars a month.
Within the past few days additional positive news has surfaced – though not screaming headlines; maybe “page 2” style.
Monday, July 20 saw a economic survey released which indicated an easing in the economy, but not an end to the recession. Sara Johnson, IHS Global Insight’s managing director of global macroeconomics, said “ the survey provides new evidence that the U.S. recession is abating, but few signs of an immediate recovery”. She assisted the National Association for Business Economics with the analyzation of the survey.
The recession, which started in December of 2007, is the deepest in 30+ years, and also is the longest since the Great Depression. Most economists are looking to the second half of 2009 for the return of economic growth, but a sluggish recovery is what is expected. Also, the survey indicated a wide disagreement about if the economy had bottomed out or not. 55% of those surveyed said the bottom has not been reached, while 45% replied that the worst was over.
Also on Monday, new construction starts for single family homes were up for the second straight month. The numbers were higher than expected according to economists.
National real estate brokerage ZipRealty released inventory data indicating our housing market is beginning to stabilize. They look at 28 markets across the country. The drop in MLS-listed homes was 2.1% from May through June 2009. And, they saw a slight increase in the median list price, June over May. Many of the hardest hit markets, such as California, have seen dramatic decreases of inventory; 14 straight months of sales growth! And equally hard hit Florida has seen 9 straight months of sales growth too. The word this summer appears to be “affordability”.
With the first time buyers tax credit, historic low interest rates, declining inventory of homes, and increased buyer activity, we should see sales prices and homes values increase as we go into autumn.
Let InSight Mortgage Group analyze your specific financial situation and offer solutions customized to your needs. Don’t sit on the fence any longer; the time is NOW to take action. Please give us a call,913-642-3334 or email us at michele@wantinsight.com or dickw@wantinsight.com. Blessings
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