Economic Growth a Key Factor to Housing, Experts Say
It seems that all of the speakers at the recent bi-annual Construction Forecast Webinar could agree on one thing – without the growth of the economy and employment, the housing market would not be doing as well as it is right now. The growth is slow and sometimes hard to see as it speeds up and slows down over each quarter of the year. It seems that Wall Street waits with bated breath to find out which sectors of the market are performing, which, of course, affects the psychological ups and downs of trading. However, economic growth and a lowered unemployment rate have bode well for today’s real estate market.
One of the speakers of the webinar expressed optimism that there soon may be a slight easement of credit requirements from banks and lenders. This shift would cause a positive chain reaction of events that would help new home buyers, especially those right out of college and graduates who have been living with their parents or relatives to be able to set up their own households. There is already a lower risk associated with lending in certain financial markets, and an institution’s willingness to lend will contribute to job growth as business can increase their holdings, take on new property and contracts, and be able to do more business with more access to financial resources. Job growth will spur the economy which will encourage economic growth. This cyclical effect is what “normal” market conditions look like and what was lost with the crash right before the Recession.
An extremely harsh winter slightly dampened the numbers and statistics coming out of the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) economic news sector, but the NAHB was able to report a rise of 6% in single-family home starts in the month of March, 2014. This showed a 2.8% increase month-over-month from February, 2014 nationwide. Here at Ron Lee Homes, in St. Tammany Parish, there has been an exponential increase in the demand for proposals for both floorplan design as well as custom new home building projects. We are currently working with close to 20 clients on plans and designs for their new home.
Ron Lee Homes also built a gorgeous new custom home for sale for the St. Tammany Home Builders Association Parade of Homes. Come by to see what new innovative and green techniques that we use in each and every home we build. You won’t find a better example of energy efficiency and craftsmanship than in a home built by Ron Lee. Call 985-626-7619 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.
