Venisenvy
Oct 26th, 2006, 10:12 AM
Depending on whom you ask, the winds may already be shifting for the housing market. All year, economists have warned of a bursting housing bubble and its potential impact on economic growth. However, a recent stream of encouraging data has some prominent prognosticators changing their tune.
One of the first in line was Alan Greenspan. As recently as May 18, the former Federal Reserve chairman put an exclamation point on the housing slowdown when he declared, "The boom is over." But now, the "worst may well be over," Greenspan was quoted as saying Oct. 7, after mortgage applications posted their biggest weekly gain since June, 2005.
A growing number of economists and analysts have come around to the ex-Fed chief's view. Some investors may see sunnier skies too, as homebuilding stocks such as Lennar, DR Horton, and Pulte Homes have rebounded since touching 52-week lows in July.
...
"The point of maximum deterioration in housing activity has probably passed," says Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs, in an Oct. 20 report. "The sharp downturn of the past year seems to have brought total housing starts—single-family starts, multi-family starts, and mobile-home shipments—close to the level justified by the underlying demographics."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15416909/
I guess now the doom and gloom people will need to find something else in the economy to attack to make it seem bad while most indicators show its damn great.
One of the first in line was Alan Greenspan. As recently as May 18, the former Federal Reserve chairman put an exclamation point on the housing slowdown when he declared, "The boom is over." But now, the "worst may well be over," Greenspan was quoted as saying Oct. 7, after mortgage applications posted their biggest weekly gain since June, 2005.
A growing number of economists and analysts have come around to the ex-Fed chief's view. Some investors may see sunnier skies too, as homebuilding stocks such as Lennar, DR Horton, and Pulte Homes have rebounded since touching 52-week lows in July.
...
"The point of maximum deterioration in housing activity has probably passed," says Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs, in an Oct. 20 report. "The sharp downturn of the past year seems to have brought total housing starts—single-family starts, multi-family starts, and mobile-home shipments—close to the level justified by the underlying demographics."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15416909/
I guess now the doom and gloom people will need to find something else in the economy to attack to make it seem bad while most indicators show its damn great.