Housing Market May Weigh Economy Down

By Kyle Chezum Updated on 12/20/2010

12/20/2010

Housing figures may not improve as much as Wall Street banks are expecting they will.  Despite signs of improvement in the overall economy, rising mortgage rates may shut out a few too many potential homebuyers and stifle development in the housing market once again.  With housing still low, the economy may not be able improve as fast as investors and policymakers are hoping.

Edward Leamer, director of Anderson Forecast at the University of California, Los Angeles, is concerned.  “Unless we get housing and construction jobs back, we will not get a robust recovery. We will be stuck with high unemployment rates indefinitely.”  An upcoming Wednesday report is expected to reveal existing home sales up by a modest 300,000 for the month of November.

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