Economist's Commentary: May 13, 2008
Quick Take on the Economy: May 13, 2008
By Ken Fears, Manager, Regional Economics
Retail Sales - U.S. Census Bureau
- Fell 0.2% from April to May
- Excluding car and gas sales, the index was up an encouraging 0.6%.
What does this mean for Realtors ® and consumers?
- Better consumer spending will help mitigate the economic slump, employment up, which will continue to feed the pool of pent-up demand for housing.
- This pattern could be temporary, but the stimulus checks will likely reinforce this pattern if only modestly.
Daily Forecast Update
- NAR's monthly official forecast (15K PDF)
- GDP Q2: 0.9%
- GDP Q3: 1.9%
- Unemployment rate by election time: 5.4%
- Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in June: 6.1%
- Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in December: 6.2%
This is one in a series of commentaries by the Research staff of the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more commentaries >
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