A Ray of Hope for the Economy

With the current state of the economy is there a ray of hope shining through? According to a recent article found at money.cnn many economists are seeing signs of recovery as early as this summer! Even though New York unemployment is at a 25 year all time high there could be a silver lining right around the corner. Economists are saying they are seeing indicators bottoming out left and right. Starting with job losses peaking in January to increased home sales and stocks. Even better news is because the economy took such a steep fall they are hopeful that the recovery will be that much stronger.

Some economists are saying recovery could be as close to four months away! Such as economist Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute. He says his firm’s readings on long-term and short-term economic indicators give him significantly more hope that the economy is closer to a turnaround than he had thought even a month ago! Among the more than dozen different things his firm looks at are home prices, the jobs picture and stock prices.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, also believes that a recovery could be closer than most people think. However, he said an end to the recession would largely depend on improvement in the labor markets. His first concern is getting job losses under control. He says if we can help improve job losses that will help build consumer confidence back into the economy and stocks.

I say the sooner the better! I love reading good news…

The Economy - How bad is bad?

Unfortunately the economy in its current state is being compared to the great depression of 1873! The great depression started the exact same way as our current economy with the stock market crashing, Wall Street panicking and business shutting down across America.

Is it really fair to compare today to 1873? James Kolari, an economist disagrees with this comparison. His argument is that it is unfair to compare now to then because the federal government was fair more passive then they are today. Back then the federal government let 15,000 out of 30,000 banks fall!

But Nelson, a historian who has studied the panic of 1873, says today’s economy might even be worse than the American economy in 1873! It took America four years to recover in 1873 and current predictions for the current economy recovery is around 5 years!

Either way you look at it, it is not a good situation. My feeling is Obama brings hope. I am all for his $787 billion stimulation plan if it could possible helps the current situation! We are living in scary times and the best thing to do is have hope.

The Top Abandoned Cities

When you think of bright lights and a big city one of the first places that comes to mind is Las Vegas. With the economy the way it is, unfortunately it is at the top of the list for abandoned cities. Las Vegas is an adults play ground if you have the dough, but if you have no dough like the state of many adults your main concern is putting food on the dinner table, not buying a stack of poker chips. Las Vegas is an expensive treat and one that is just not a priority to very many people at this time. On top of that the once lavish construction sites and economic growth areas have all come to a screaming halt!

So what comes in at number two you may ask? Well remember Detroit known as the backbone for the American industry? You guessed it, it is the number two most abandoned city. Detroit is suffering from the great economic decline because of the role the city played in the past.

While Las Vegas and Detroit were neck in neck for the title, Las Vegas pulled ahead with all of the vacant houses. According to Forbes abandoned cities were determined by pulling a combination of rental and homeowner vacancy rates, with Las Vegas suffering the most because of bad loans and decreasing property value.

So what is to come for these two troubled cities? Time will only tell…

Stores to Watch Out For

We all know that the economy is not in a very good spot as we speak. I wanted to do some personal research and find out which stores were going out of business and which stores are in fear of going out of business. According to Forbes.com Circuit City, Linens ‘N Things and Mervyn’s stores are all going out of business! More pain is predicted along the way as a women’s survey suggested that one third of the women claimed they did not plan on purchasing any new clothing in 2009! Lane Bryant, Gap, and Starbucks are some of the companies that we are supposed to keep our eye on, as they are not predicted to do well in the New Year.

Research suggests that the market will not be the same for a long period of time and could take easily up to 10 years to get back on track. Eddie Bauer, Pacific Sunwear, along with Zales, the big jewelry chain are other stores to keep watch over. All of these retailers are currently having a really hard time making it in the market. It is tough to survive right now and only the strongest will survive as retailers struggle more and more. Stay tuned for continued up dates…

With a Change in the Economy top 5 places to now live…

Since the economy has changed so much recently so has the top five states to live in. With a new list of top five states there are a lot of things to consider when choosing a new location for a home. There are many things that people are looking for including comfortable living and a stronger economy and a safe environment to raise a family.
The best place to live with plentiful jobs, excellent schools and affordable housing, an active outdoor culture and low crime is Plymouth Minnesota.
Coming in second is Fort Collins Colorado, with a bike lane on every new road built even the carless can get around.
Third place goes to Naperville Illinois. In Naperville the walk able down town area is packed with restraints, shops and the jobs are plentiful!
Forth place goes to Irvine California. Many people consider Irvine the perfect place to live with its school districts winning numerous awards and the majority of the jobs provided by the University.
At fifth place Franklin Township New Jersey. With plenty of high tech, pharmaceutical and research development plants there is more then enough of jobs to go around! So next time you are looking to relocate make sure to check out these places especially if it is in the next couple of months!

The State of the Economy

If you are one of those people who are not worried about the state of economy and you want to buy a new home right now here is some advice that will help point you in the right direction.

First of all take the time to find the right place. Do not pay attention to seller’s asking price and bid 10% lower then what comparable homes are selling for. If the seller does not want to budge then move on!

Mortgage rates are low so right now is the time to buy, waiting could be more costly! Financing is getting more expensive the so the longer you wait the more you pay in financing. Also even if prices fall more there could be a penalty for waiting!

Always strive to purchase a home in a neighborhood with good schools. Schools with higher rating represent stability, and especially right now that is very important. If you are looking into a foreclosed property that usually reflects instability if there are a lot of them in the area, this could mean a lower quality of life which you want to stay away from. When you are buying a property you are also buying the neighborhood, so keep that in mind!

I hope these suggestions help you make the right decision.

Real Estate in the state of a recession!

If you are looking for a real estate then I am sure you are aware that the recession has a huge impact on the market! I wanted to find out who was surviving the best out of all the cities in the United States and here is what I found: Oklahoma City is one of the country’s strongest housing markets and is in the best position to handle the crises. They have a solid growth rate in agriculture, energy and manufacturing all contributing to what makes them the strongest.

The next city is San Antonio with solid employment rates and affordable home prices. The other cities that are staying strong are Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Dallas, TX; San Jose, CA; Raleigh, NC; Salt Lake City, UT; and Seattle, WA. When gathering statistics Forbes.com looked at many different areas in the country and focused on the fifty largest metro areas.

The statistics that they used include unemployments rates, job growth, construction, education, health services, financial activity, transportation, trade, and many other figures. They also looked at the median home price and compared growth from forth quarter 2006 to fourth quarter 2007. In conclusion if you are looking for an area to find solid real estate opportunities you will have to look outside of your city if you are not in these cities!