In spite of all of the negative predictions being made about the real estate market in 2010 and beyond, all signs are pointing to recovery. When you look at all of the economic indicators, slow but strong growth in expected to continue. If you are in need of a new career in this economy, it would seem that earning a real estate license is a good bet.
Housing numbers are holding steady in markets across the country. In spite of the severe weather that plagued most of the nation in February, sales numbers for existing homes were down less than one percent for the month nationally. New home sales were down a bit more with a 2.2% drop in February, but the median home price of the homes sold increase more than 6% over the previous month and 5% year over year. Remarkably where the country was hardest hit by the storms, the Northeastern states, sales were actually up almost 3%, while the median home price saw a jump of more than 7%.
Other indicators of a rebounding housing market include the national unemployment numbers. March 2010 had far fewer new unemployment filings than analysts had anticipated. This indicates a slowing in national job losses as well as some success in job creation. Higher employment numbers is a strong indication that the housing market will continue to see slow and steady improvement.
A recent study completed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reports that affordability of home ownership is at “historic high levels”, even going so far as to refer to the housing market recovery in the United States as showing “tangible signs of improvement”. The FDIC is not the only group of experts seeing signs that the real estate market is bouncing back. Economists from UCLA have come down on the opposite side of the argument that the recovery will be short lived. They predict instead that the economic expansion will continue to increase the gross domestic product at an estimated rate of 2% to 3% per quarter.
Rising home prices are also anticipated to continue according to experts at First American Core Logic. They predict that home prices will increase 4.5% in the coming year, even with the large percentage of distressed properties on the market. Without including distressed properties, they expect that the increase could have been as high as 5.6%.
There are still a number of the “Chicken Little” types out there that prefer to believe that the sky is falling on the real estate market, but there is an extraordinary amount of evidence to the contrary. Finally there is good news for licensed real estate agents and brokers. The rebounding real estate market is also good news for people who may have found themselves downsized or in need of more secure employment. In a matter of months they can earn a real estate license and be ready to earn commissions. Indicators across the economic board show that the housing market recovery is real and here to stay.
