Real Estate Numbers Rise for 2013

January 28, 2014

Existing Home Sales for the nation rose substantially for 2013 giving us the highest numbers that we’ve seen for 7 years.  This is encouraging to say the least, however, many factors still plague our country and the health of our economic recovery.  The United States needs to see more than the 70,000-200,000 private jobs created each month for us to have a strong economic recovery.  It is understood that the national unemployment rate dipped below 7%, but let’s be honest here.   Many people have left the workforce causing this number to look more attractive than it really is.  Many more people need to get back to work and be able to make attractive wages before our economy is not struggling on life support.

Regardless of how our overall economy is, people still need to find homes to live in.  We have witnessed the largest economic correction that the US has had in decades and people still find ways to buy their own home.  This is the resilience and creativity of the American people, which is what should be celebrated.  People are doing what they can to scratch and crawl their way to lending approval because they know the importance of owning their own home.  Taking advantage of the amazingly low interest rates is a strong motivator as well.  Allowing interest rates to rise before locking in that rate will cost a home buyer thousands of dollars over the term of their loan or the time they own the home.  As interest rates continue to rise through 2014, the buyers who are able to purchase now will be the ones creating more of their own wealth over time.  http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000