by rtdosen | Aug 6, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
5 Things to Know about the Second Half Housing Market By Ryan Dosen Half of the year is in the books and we are seeing many promising signs for continued improvement in the real estate market. With the back nine still left to play, National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun recently released NAR’s second half forecast and discussed a few interesting things we all should know about the current and expected conditions of the economy and housing market. Here are the highlights…. 1. Home Sales Hitting Pre-Recession Highs As discussed in last week’s column, pending contracts to buy existing homes have hit a 9-year high, new home sales have hit a 7-year high, and housing permits to build new homes have hit an 8-year high. Existing-home sales also recently hit their highest mark since 2009, when the homebuyer ($8,000) tax credit had been in place. Though the credit is no longer in place, the economy has improved and the market is rebounding nicely. This return to pre-recession levels of activity is definitely a positive sign for the housing market. 2. GDP and Jobs Growth Expected, Despite Sluggish Wage Growth Yun forecasts that GDP will grow by 2.5 to 3 percent in the second half, allowing for more job creation. He also says that a total of 2.5 million net new jobs are likely to be created this year. While expecting solid job growth in the second half, Yun warns that part-time jobs are too high and that incomes are rising at a “sluggish” 2 percent rate. However, he also forecasts that wages should rise...
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