My column for the December 2011 issue of Builder & Developer magazine is now posted online.
For this issue, entitled "2011 in Review: Unemployment and Low Consumer Confidence Postpone the Recovery" I reviewed the reasons why the long-awaited recovery in the housing market has been postponed.
An excerpt:
Whether due to poor consumer confidence, tighter credit standards, high unemployment, delayed foreclosures or some combination of the above, it’s become clear that millions of potential households have delayed the move to their own, private abodes until the economy -- and their aspirations -- improve...
...However, aside from continued troubling signs from Europe, the economic news is gradually beginning to improve. For example, U.S. GDP, which squeaked along at 0.4% and 1.3% in the first and second quarters of 2011, respectively, accelerated to 2.5% by the third quarter. Retail sales are up, led mostly by gains in cars and electronics. Both business sales and industrial production are rising, and the consumer price index recently declined, suggesting that inflation is being kept in check...
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