When we hear good news about the economy, we want to stop and ask, “Okay, what are you selling?” We won’t take it at the face value because every time you get your hopes up, somebody pulls the rug from under your feet. So things are looking good in the housing market. Quite good! The sale of previously owned homes is at its highest since 2006, before the housing debacle rocked the economy in 2007 and 2008. What’s the deal? Is it a fluke, or dare we take the liberty to hope in the future once again?
Housing indeed rose 1 percent to 4.87 million annually, according to reports from the National Association of Realtors. Why? With unemployment at a persistent low, and more and more business hiring, buyer confidence is nosing up, and more people are taking the leap into owning a house- especially at this rock-bottom and zero-rate environment. It is predicted this will be a solid year for home construction, and the purchasing of new houses.
“We’ll see better job growth, more housing jobs and better overall GDP growth throughout 2014,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., as Bloomberg reported. It “will be another year of recovery for the housing market with more sales, more homes constructed and prices up.” Well good. Give us reason to hope: God knows we need it!