Watch "Fareed Zakaria GPS" Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET.
By Fareed Zakaria, CNN
They say that all politics is local. Maybe all economics is local as well.
A sample of Americans were asked how they rated economic conditions.
49% said things were good or excellent in the city that they lived in. That percentage drops to 37% for how Americans feel about their state; it drops to 25% for all of the United States; to 18% for Europe, and only 13% for economic conditions in the world at large.
So the more macro things get, the more despondent people feel. But at a local level — at home — things don't seem too bad.
It got me thinking about housing, the most local of all financial indicators. It's making a comeback.
Recently, we learned that U.S. house prices have now risen for the third straight month. The Case-Shiller index shows that residential prices in 20 key cities increased by seven-tenths of 1 percent in April. Sales of new single-family homes rose by 7.6% — the highest in two years.
The data highlights a trend — and it provides reason to be optimistic for the broader economy. Why?
History shows that in the immediate years following a recession, housing leads the comeback.
Take the first year of the last four American recoveries and the percentage of GDP growth that's attributed to investments in housing. In the last three recoveries, housing provides (on average) one-fifth of the nation's GDP growth following a recession. But 2009 was different; the housing bust kept home sales depressed. (Get more details in the video above)
Even looking at the second year of those recoveries, you see again positive in the previous recoveries, but negative in this one.
That looks ready to change. The latest data suggests that finally, slowly, the U.S. housing market has hit rock bottom and is heading back upwards. Vacancy rates are down, rents are up.
A recovery in housing will have big ramifications: Construction will increase; so will jobs; so will the economy.
For all the doomsday prophesies about the American economy, one reason to remain optimistic in the long run is demographics.
Accounting for births, deaths and new entrants, the U.S. has a net gain of one person every 13 seconds. That works out to about 2.5 million people every year. These people will all need places to live, and so we can actually count on a future growth in housing, construction and therefore those jobs.
Compare our demographics with that of other rich countries. Germany's population is set to decline by 170,000 this year — a trend which will hinder growth in the future. Japan's slowdown is already in large part due to its bad demographics. Its current population is 127 million but it is on pace to drop by a third by 2050. Almost one in four people in Japan are over the age of 65. In the U.S. only 13% of the population is over 65. A fifth are under the age of 14 — a guarantee that we'll have have young dynamic entrants to our workforce for decades.
The crucial factor that explains America's unique advantage is, of course, immigration.
Our fertility rates are not so different from those in Europe. What makes us demographically dynamic is that we take in about a million legal immigrants every year — more than the rest of the world put together. They are going to finally get us out of this sluggish recovery.
More on GPS:
- Mexico economy on the rise
- How to keep America competitive
- Reasons for optimism in today's world
- Is democracy part of Europe's economic problems?
What do you think? How do you feel about the economy where you live? Share your comments below.
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I hear that 70% of the US economy is domestic consumer spend but consumer confidence is down. I also hear that 15% of US workers are un(der)employed, so this means that 85% are employed I think. I may not be a mathematician but if the 85% employed workers were to consume an extra 18% the US would expand back to normal economic levels & workers could be reemployed! Actually just 10% would start this "upward spiral" needed, ... even 5% extra would start the process ... so what's missing? Perhaps the presidential candidates could turn away from negative campaigning and encourage us all to believe in a simple upward spiral to recovery?
You heard wrong.
All the bad things you heard were about Syria, Libya, Iran, Pakistan...
Sorry, but I tell you truth.
You seem to be more credible than Fareed, HAMID. The U.S. economy won't be quite as rosy as these people want us to believe. The American heyday is past. Just look at what happened in ancient Rome with their economy if you don't believe me!
Actually, what do I know.
The doctors say that as my tumour grows, I will have good days and bad days.
allahakbar!
We are indeed a "consumption driven" economy, but the greatest problem that we now face is that with 54% of persons heading or living in a household that makes less than 25k a year, that huge portion of consumers doesn't have any extra money to spend other than to keep a roof over their head and food on the table (barely); it's "discretionary consumer spending" that we need and the money isn't there
man i totally agree. nobodys gonna buy a limestone sidewalk when their wages have been slashed to the bone. it all began in the ealy 90,s with workforce restructuring. suddenly your doing the work of 2 people with no cost of living increases.. now buy a limestone sidewalk from me fore i starve to death..
@ fahreed, hug a nut. immigrants arent going to build new homes. their going to trash the existing ones till nature takes it back like detroit..
@bob searcy – uh.....maybe it's kinda hard to understand, but if the immigrants move into some kind of dwelling, it's still one less dwelling sitting empty. Even if they take the less desirable housing (per your xenophobic viewpoint) that let's the people currently residing in those homes step up one notch and so on. At some point, there isn't enough homes for everyone and more need to be built. Hence the point of the article.
This guy is whistling by the cemetary. That misiscule uptick doesn't mean a thing. Foreclosures and short sales. continue. He needs to get out of whatever place he lives in a drive around a typical American neighborhood. It will be 5-7 years before any housing recovery is felt and a lot longer for the 20 million people underemployed and unemployed to get back on their feet.
You are looking at a few examples accessable to you. These people are looking at national official reports from a wide variety of indicators. At the same time, conservatives and Mitt Romney fans are hoping for bad news and discounting any signs of recovery so they can find reasons to blame Obama for not doing enough. That means they're hoping for the worst for their fellow citizens for the sake of politics. . . truly pathetic !
You missed the part where he said economics is local. Your outlook depends on where you live. I'm seeing new home and commerical construction in my area. Also rents are high.
Isgryl – You obviously don't realize that rents are high due to demand and supply. Many people cannot afford homes or do not qualify for loans...therefore they have no choice but to rent. The more renters = the higher landlords can charge. Is this basic enough for you to understand? High rents do not mean a good rebounding economy. Geesh. Get a clue before you make comments on something you have no clue about.
Give us a break with the doom and gloom garbage for a change. Do you work for a hedge fund? After two years, my house finally sold. I also am about to close on another home. Homes in my general area are in demand, most of the decent homes (that haven't been trashed by vengeful homeowners) sell within days of hitting the market. Not sure about the rest of the country, but things are finally starting to look optimistic in parts of Georgia. My company is hiring like never before, contracts and business is expanding.
All one has to do to find the truth is to look around. Same houses are still for sale with the exception of the few being bought up by real estate investors. CNN the Democrats best friend has tried on many occasions to spark the economy and make things sound better than they are. Only to have to later report things are still bleak. The democrats had two years unchallenged to show the nation that they could turn things around and bring jobs back home. Instead they chose to ram through their personal agenda which will be repealed by this time next year. Now they want you to believe they dill do the right thing if re elected. That which they should have done first to gain the trust of the Independants who voted them into office in 08. Trust has evorated and backing has fled to the other side.
Yawn ... same talking poimts.
Well, when employment was high and people were spending at normal levels, that's when the economy sank. Then business started laying off and outsourcing like crazy, so I don't think that you can blame the consumers for the recovery if we didn't cause the problem in the first place. We are a symptom, not the cause.
Our small business is improving. We just purchased our first truck. We are moving to a larger warehouse this summer. Neighbors are selling their homes for more than they are asking because of bidding wars. Things are good and getting better. Chin up, America.
You are right Keith. It's all about perceptions. Too many people buying into the negative news has damped the recovery, but people can see the reality in their own communities, which is why they are more positive about the local economy. But there are those who are just stubbornly negative, even in boom times, and others who are trying very hard to make the current administration look bad.
So then the cure to our economics woes is population growth? So what happens when global population plateaus and stabilizes towards the middle of the century, as hopefully will happen according to UN population statistics? Fareed's and others' current economic thinking are founded on a principle of "growth" that often is stimulated or complemented by population growth and which thereby would be incompatible with a non-growing and even shrinking global population. You don't need to have even a 1st grader's education to realize that 1) endless population growth is impossible on a finite planet with finite (and depleting) resources and that 2) the current economic way of thinking will not bear well in such a situation. So...something has to give, right? I'd say it's time that mainstream economics reconsider its fundamentals and it's obsession for "growth". Endlessly growing population and/or consumption is an impossibility on a finite planet. That's as basic a concept as you can get. Despite this our leading economists, including Fareed, seem unable to reconcile with this flaw and continue to deny it.
Absolutely right. I grew up in India, which has a high population growth rate. Yes people are now more able to afford phones, TVs and other gadgets. But a large population has led to depletion of resources. Almost all cities now face perennial water shortages and power-cuts. Housing prices have hit the roof while average size of a house/apartment has shrunk continuously. Schools are overcrowded, so are roads and hospitals. When I was growing up there used to be a park in every neighborhood, not any more.
I agree with your concerns over the potential effects of population and consumption growths. However, I believe that wise regulations, ingenuity, and creativity in the public and private sectors can turn things around. For a brief period in the USA in the 1990's we saw the positive effects of low income people moving into the middle class. Strengthening the middle class and empowering low income people to move upward will be the keys to future growth.
Recent Credit Crunch
If the forces of a capitalist society left unchecked, it tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Of course. That's why American has been successful. Government has heavily controlled capitalism. That works as long as the controls apply to all companies equally so they have a level playing field on which to pursue profits. Of course, capitalists try very hard to convince everyone that the quick road to utopia is to take all of the controls off of capitalists. They want "smaller" government – hopefully too small to pass and enforce the required controls. A very big danger today is that many companies have grown large enough to pressure Congress – the "too big to fail" banks, etc. That threatens to upset the balance of power that has made us prosperous.
Actually I wasn't assuming growth ... that's another issue. My point is that lack of confidence on a national scale seems to be driving many of our current woes. My "upward spiral" thought is a plea for more confidence expressed by all of us who can find that 5% for a limited time to get us all out of the ditch! I hold the media responsible for much of that lack of confidence ... continual focus on discontent, ugly politics, and the negative in our lives [for their own benefit!] is dragging down our national spirit. We need to turn this around, find a new way to help each other. Ideas welcome!
What we need to emphasize is world wide economic growth which is irrelevant to population gains and losses. We Americans want a Prius or an SUV. My counterpart in India wants a bicycle. We want a Kindle or a Plasma Screen TV. My son's counterpart in Ivory Coast wants shoes. We want to build a room addition. My family's counterpart in Congo wants mosquito netting. It really wouldn't take much to turn several billion humans into consumers of very small things that would drive economies and improve lives.
What we need to emphasize is world wide economic growth which is irrelevant to population gains and losses. We Americans want a Prius or an SUV. My counterpart in India wants a bicycle. We want a Kindle or a Plasma Screen TV. My son's counterpart in Ivory Coast wants shoes. We want to build a room addition. My family's counterpart in Congo wants mosquito netting. It really wouldn't take much to turn several billion humans into consumers of very small things that would drive economies and improve lives.
An age of abundance is coming. Water,power and manufacturing will be available locally, even home-generated. Medical technology will become so advanced it will break the cost barrier and nano treatments for cancer will replace radiation at a fraction of the cost. Self-diagnosis through personal scans will be routine. Knowledge and communication are already on the cusp of universality.
Meanwhile, symmetrical warfare between counties is obsolete. Germany saves Greece and Spain, it does not invade. By comparison to past ages we live in a time of global peace, but for flash points like Syria. Dictators continue to fall.
Lifetimes have never been longer and as a whole humans never healthier. Things can always be better but pull back and see the whole chessboard. It's amazing, dynamic and growing.
Pessimists posit a static world. Our world is expanding. Cheer up!
well put, doc magnus. tired of demagogues complaining about the economic conditions in this country from their computers, facebook, and twitter accounts while children in third world countries walk four miles a day just to collect contaminated drinking water.
So let me get this straight.
You are miffed off because the USA is undergoing bad economics while in the third world, overbred women are producing litters of children who die because their people are unable to look after them properly. Furthermore, why isnt the USA helping to feed these babies.
Your premise is a little convoluted.
Luckily the economic cycle turns round and round, that not the whole world suffers if one region faces an economic meltdown.
If GOP assumes the helm of the American economy, immigration will grind to a halt killing the growth through immigration argument. And I thought there was more repatriation under Obama than any former president. Is that why we are not growing? I don't think so.
Are heads are filled with miserable this and crummy that. I do not see it so bad. If it were this desperate, and I am far from rich let alone wealthy, in NY, it just isn't that evident.
Nice to hear you have an adequate job. However, you are mistaken about the GOP. Although Obama and Zakaria would would like to give the US to people with whom they identify, the Dems and the GOP represent big money and want low wages. The GOP will not stop immigration. Who would cut the lawn? Who would keep quiet if employers abuse them?
Than you, America my beauty.
All the bad or human test and challenged days, PASSED during the early 1600's.
What is wrong with US?
At that time, the real Human being-the Great Britain Soldiers, entered into American soil (God Bless), with small rifles, little foods, worn out clothes,..., but with Almighty God's help and great future promises- for you, me and the rest of the World, America to be the number ONE choice of freedom, liberty and holly place.
Will those past British heroes alive today, wow! there won't be a single complain.
What is wrong with US?
Practically, I know some of US we are treating ourselves less human than others, which we are wrong. We are all equal, under Almighty God.
What is wrong with US?
Don't complain, because you don't have a Shoes. Since there are people who don't even have legs.
What is wrong with US?
One thing that holding some of you is, the bad baggage full of disease. It is called, SCAR.
We must reset the SCAR now, to move forward. We must also stop, giving the evil doses, to established a new SCAR or manipulations.
Earthly human, look around, there are plenty things to do, for greatness of US.
Don't let the past scar to occupied your thoughts and Mind.
What is wrong with US?
Admit it! Our time is great!
Many thanks for those Great Britain Armies and inventors, who made the current beautiful America, available for the World.
What is wrong with ME?
Why do I need to raise so much crap everytime I can.
Because I can.
Because you dumb Americans listen to me and give me a forum for my idiocy.
Who are you? Scammer?
Use your own name.
With all due respect for for Mr. Zakaria's opinions, his rosy predictions about the US housing recovery, and it's effect, driven by US population growth through immigration, seems a bit premature. The US's reliance on housing construction to drive the economy, in addition to "consumption", in the light of world ecological, economic and demographic developments, seems extremely myopic and short sighted. The US is still of the opinion that it can claim for itself the vast majority of the worlds resources to sustains its wasteful consumer society.
The other comparison which puzzles me is the one with Europe. Having just moved to Europe I find all the doomsday reports from the Anglo-American media about the catastrophic conditions in Europe puzzling. To anyone with open eyes and an open mind it is quite obvious that Europeans, on the whole, live much better than Americans. And don't rely on my subjective and possibly biased view, just consult any of a host of OECD or other statistics. The media's focus on GDP to argue that America is "richer" and better off is obviously misleading. Just one example – the typical American pays at least twice as much for health care as in the next most expensive country, Switzerland, and gets close to the worst health care outcomes of any "advanced" society. These exorbitant expenditures ADD to the GDP but in actual fact SUBTRACT from quality of life. One can make these kinds of calculations on negative impact of high GDP in many areas of the US economy. One can even make that comparison with housing. America's obsession with larger and larger single family homes are not only destroying the environment in multiple ways, they enslave the average American family to their mortgage payments, depriving them of flexibility in lifestyle choices. One cannot even make the argument anymore that housing is a safe investment...
Reference the US Economy and future outlook...I wish the economist would tell me how there could ever be a long lasting healthy economy when we have a situation where the population continues to grow...American citizens giving birth and growth through immigration....1 person every 13 seconds...improving education will increase technology in industry which means machines, etc. replace the need for people. Enhanced and innovative medicine equals more Americans living longer. Are labor costs are so high, we can't improve our export of goods. When you consider all of the aforementioned, how can we ever reduce the unemployment rate in this country?
Sounds good on paper. I mean invoking index after index, theory after theory, isn't bringing unemployment down. It isn't getting people who have left the unemployment rolls back to work. But I guess that after watching a government spending billions on phantom companies like Solyndra and rewarding political allies with grants that produce no jobs, some little movement in an index after being in the tank for 4 years now is something to write a column on after no one wants to own Obamacare.
Tell this to the engineer with 20+ years experience that cannot find a job in his field because the unions will not negotiate a contract. Tell this to the factory worker who lost his job, because his union wouldn't negotiate in a tough economy. Tell this to all of the people still struggling while the ruling elite jet set around spending massive amounts of taxpayer money on themselves and their friends.
Yes, let's all celebrate because some progressive journalist found a statistic that may lead us to believe that things will be getting better soon. Happy days are here again.
I'd have bought the union argument maybe 30 years ago, but most engineers don't belong to unions and, only 14% of all workers actually belong to a union – so I'm not buying it at all. Now you could say that business is sending too many engineering jobs overseas due to the manipulated currency valuation between, say, the US in China – that I'd buy as plausible argument.
//most engineers don't belong to unions..//
No, they don't...I understand this...but when a plant sends their work overseas because the union wouldn't budge here, the engineer still gets the axe. I know a few who are in this category. I used that example only because of it. Bottom line-people are tired of progressives spinning numbers and indices that do not translate into the reality of the situation. There are still a lot of people out of work and the government is demonizing business as the cause of it. And, there are far more than the 8 some odd percent that the Dept of Labor is showing.
Hi Fareed, You mentioned today on GPS in your commentary that the US taking in 1,000,000 immigrants a year is one of the reasons that we will get our recovery going. We've been doing this for decades and yet I see no huge benefit to the recovery. Lots of jobs are being filled by foreign nationals at lower wages, unemployment rates for US citizens are on the rise and the recovery still is sluggish. Please provide some facts to support your blanket statement that increased immigration will solve our economic crisis.
Respectfully,
JohnB Washington State
I must laugh when I hear a talking-head's ego escape from their skull and start speaking like they are experts. Zakaria's conclusions are without merit.
"Seven-tenths of 1 percent is not a viable increase in home sales. (And at what price did they sell?) He talks about history, as a new history hasn't been made. The financial reality of America will forever be altered. (Especially if the GOP is in charge.) Therefore to speak of our past history is gross incompetence.
Fareed also failed to do the math about "legal immigration." He said that 1,000,000 new immigrants per year were helping the economy; the fact is; that equals 3,000,000 jobs that current citizens will not have. (And they generally work for less and spend less.)
Zakaria should stick to interviews and distance himself from his unqualified predictions and analysis...!
Who are you? What gives your conclusions merit?
Wonderful show today, Fareed, and especially the segments on the SCOTUS ruling re: health care, and just as important, the reasons to be optimistic about the U.S. economy in re: housing.
You're one of the reasons I watch (or record) the news shows on Sunday morning, and I always learn useful things. Thanks so much!
not true, these indicators are nowhere true. Back in 2006 also everything was indicating great .. what happened later ? Basically if we are flat we can call it recovery, if we rise to 2007 we call it bubble.
AH the mainstream news. Always there to tell people what they want to hear.
Actually I suppose it's a good thing the mainstream news is owned and operated by corporate America. If they actually printed the truth then people would have taken all their money out of the bank and the stock market years ago and completely destroyed the economy within 24 hours. This way it's nice and slow. Unfortunately the long drawn out version also means those in power have a chance to prepare for the eventual civil unrest by tinker with your legal system. Something that has been happening for years now disguised as combattting terrorism.
"mainstream" news is operated by corporate america? Where are you living??
You mean like Fox is owned by Rupert?
What we need to emphasize is world wide economic growth which is irrelevant to population gains and losses. We Americans want a Prius or an SUV. My counterpart in India wants a bicycle. We want a Kindle or a Plasma Screen TV. My son's counterpart in Ivory Coast wants shoes. We want to build a room addition. My family's counterpart in Congo wants mosquito netting. It really wouldn't take much to turn several billion humans into consumers of very small things that would drive economies and improve lives.
An age of abundance is coming. Water,power and manufacturing will be available locally, even home-generated. Medical technology will become so advanced it will break the cost barrier and nano treatments for cancer will replace radiation at a fraction of the cost. Self-diagnosis through personal scans will be routine. Knowledge and communication are already on the cusp of universality.
Meanwhile, symmetrical warfare between counties is obsolete. Germany saves Greece and Spain, it does not invade. By comparison to past ages we live in a time of global peace, but for flash points like Syria. Dictators continue to fall.
Lifetimes have never been longer and as a whole humans never healthier. Things can always be better but pull back and see the whole chessboard. It's amazing, dynamic and growing.
Pessimists posit a static world. Our world is expanding. Cheer up!
Why is it good when housing prices go UP, even though when the price of ANY thing else goes up, it's bad?
When prices rise on everything but homes it's looked at the same as a tax increase in that people are less able to afford today what they could yesterday. People look at rising home values as a good thing even though it requires more income because it builds equity such that if they sell they make money. The problem with that is when you sell at a profit, the next house you buy more than likely went up in price too thus making it a wash unless the price range you move to is struggling. The only good way to own a home is free and clear.
A sample of Americans were asked how they rated economic conditions.
51% said things were fair or poor in the city that they lived in. That percentage increases to 63% for how Americans feel about their state; it increases to 75% for all of the United States; to 82% for Europe, and only 87% for economic conditions in the world at large.
So the more macro things get, the more despondent people feel.
Reason for GREAT optimism if you're looking to steal a home from a desperate seller. In other words those wealthy enough to take advantage will do so. So if you're pulling for the wealthy you have reason to be happy. Just plain old us,not so much.
Which army were you in?
Stupid jew. Are you TRUE human or IVF child?
The Honourable Doctor Hitler experiment works on you. That clearly showed-up on your character.
Can you please tel us, what kind of Chemicals did he used against you or your family? Thanks.
Realistically, I wonder how many individuals and families can afford to purchase a home in the era? Incomes are relatively low because the jobs that paid well enough to purchase homes are almost extinct or are in very short supply. And, it is even more difficult given the fact that credit is very tight and down payment requirements are high.
"Incomes are relatively low because the jobs that paid well enough to purchase homes are almost extinct or are in very short supply."
Please define the jobs you describe. The only jobs I can think of that fit this description are union assembly line jobs where they were high pay for what they do but the skill base is not transferable to the public sector, thus no jobs.
If you have a decent skill base you should have no issue finding work. Your wages are determined by the market. If there's no market you won't be worth much. If you are high in demand you'll be worth a lot.
Two homes sold in my neighborhood within two months as opposed to the usual year of the recent past. Low interest rates help.
It's true !!! My son is trying to buy a place in the east bay of Northern California and everything is selling within days !!! It's good but bad for him. We also definitely see the homes in our neighborhood selling very quickly !!! As far as getting a job..there are plenty out there. Educate yourself and don't show up to an interview with jeans or a wife beater shirt. Yes some people do !!! Not everyone is looking for "customer service".
ONLY NI@@ERS AND MEXICANTS BUY THAW TO RUIN AND FORCLOSE ON !
THEM
What? Do you hear crickets in your brain all of the time/
zakaria doesn't know what he is talking about, and here's proof: he shows that city level is the best, then the further out you go, for example, state level the worse it gets, he said that. then he said 'the more macro you get', now shouldn't that be the THE LESS MACRO YOU GET? this clown has got to be thinking that cnn will be onto him at some point, right?
Nope because they know he actually has stats to back up his premise as opposed to your opinion.
Maybe they need to go back and do some actual research, the housing market IS DROPPING. Look at how many forclosures are on the books yet that they have not even listsed for sale and people are still being forclosed on. Just another example of how media makes up news.
Homes will always be foreclosed on. Yet, the market is improving here.
Rents are up? How are the unemployed supposed to pay them even if they can get a wage n illegal immigrant would take? The immigrants rent a house pretending to be a family and move in three families. The banks tear down a large proportion of foreclosed houses to keep prices and rents up. Is the US going to be very nice with 6 to nine people in every little house? Increased housing costs are not hope, they are merely inflation. An economy built on unproductive buying and selling will not help the many and may eventually even doom the few. Who is buying these houses, landlord – investors? Also 49% is not even half; were the rest unemployed?
I think the economy would improve if everybody would quit being so greedy and drop their prices so everyone could afford to purchase goods or services.
Yet another dead cat bounce SCAM.. 50% of those living in houses don't pay their mortgages.. How could the value of these overvalued pieces of crap go up?
Human beings are not fungible. We're not created equal. Zakaria's too smart not to know that; he's just keeping his job by mouthing the party line.
Replace a majority-white population with a majority brown/black one, and you get a Third World country.
and you are a racist bigot! You are whats wrong with this great country of ours!
I love good acting scenes.I arrived just in time.
Go ahead, dont mind me.
I am just a fan.
How many times are we going to go over the same old story, as a business owner who lost a fortune so Wall Street could make a living buying a yacht and corporations especially the banks could write loans to unqualified people and then get bailout, and we could start a war with the first sign of the dot.com crisis, all of this goes in one ear and out the other, basically its still the same and this time around it is worse because if we won't work on the cheap like the 1930's, then jobs will just go overseas like the GE x-ray division, how many jobs were lost in the move, the real unemployment rate is much higher and we are still looking at another scence from Fantasy Island until the real not the unreal social and individual ideas are over; in the meantime, the gays and the gatherers are having a field day protecting the crimes of the rich!
Good try helping Obama, but no, its not rebounding, its still dropping in most area's with more foreclosures on the way. In the greater NJ area townhouses in a gated community that sold orginally in 2005 for 300k+, and sold last year for $220k, just sold for $150k.... Half the value.... And its a good safe area, so far.... Unemployment is understated, AND it doesn't really help keep your home with jobs only mainly being created at McDonalds, Wal-Mart, etc...... Good jobs gone, low low paying jobs in....
Try finding a townhome in D.C. that's gone down in value. It's all relative to where you live. We have a lot of foreclosures here too but home builders are putting up new builds too. I know people have the money for them because I've personally met a number of them that have bought new homes. I fail to understand why they're buying them now when as soon as they move in the value has dropped and on top of that the fed is supposed to raise rates in a year which will make prices drop again AND there's supposed to be another wave of foreclosures due to hit the market very soon.
Exactly.
U.S. house prices have now risen ???
Just in time for the re-election hype.
Now my property in CA is only upside down by $250,000
not $252,000 YAHOO recovery summer is here !!!
MOVING FORWARD -> -> ->
Full speed over the cliff !!!
Yet another intellectual trying to blow sunshine up my As*. Last month Housing was the worst it had been in three years. This month it's the best it has been three years. Next month it will be the worst again. The physiology that we're being bombarded with amazes me sometimes. Sadly, it's all smoke and mirrors.
CNN is reduced to relying on Fareed Zakaria for economic forecasts!?!?!? Zakaria has never taken a single economics class, but thinks he can make forecasts on economics issues now? No wonder CNN is dead last and deserves to be too.
Fareed's optimistic because it's an election year and he has something to sell.
Three and a half years into the Obama presidency and we're still searching for SIGNS of a recovery....
And keep in mind that Obama was a huge advocate of giving mortgages to anything with a pulse. In fact, that was his job as a "community organizer." To force banks to give loans to people who had no hope of paying the money back.
Wrong Bob. It was Bush who wanted to give mortgages to anyone with a pulse.
It goes back to Clinton.
So yay....allow the home prices to pick up again and let there be bubble 2.0
The conservatards would rather see the economy fail than have a black man in the white house, as evidenced by these comments.
The economy is and has been failing.
Obama is white.
I'd call him black, and the GOP is just waiting for its Great Black/Brown Hope.
You are wrong wrm.
America is the greatest country in the world and will be for many thousands of years.
When it is that time of the month, I have so many issues to deal with.
Auto sales are up, retail sales are up...housing is the last piece of the puzzle.
Too bad Republicans....
hopefully, cash for clukers 2.0 in January 2012 to boost Wall Street with more FED backed money to the tune of 5 trillion and why are we still over there in Afghanistan, but really I need a new car!
New home construction is meaningless when there are thousands of existing homes on the market, either through foreclosure or simply up for sale. So much of this is driven by discretionary spending, and people just aren't able to do spend that way these days. People simply don't buy new homes like they buy new shoes or a pair of jeans or whatever. Hopefully I'm wrong...I'm certainly no economist...but if our recovery is so heavily dependent on the housing market, I just don't see a lot of reason for optimism yet.
The author does not know what he's talking about. There is another whole wave of foreclosures coming as the million or two foreclosures that were delayed by the robo-signing/foreclosing scandle are now no longer protected and the banks are already proceeding against many of them.
The people saying the market is coming back are the same ones who told you there was no problem investing in the sub prime mortgages.
where did ou get you B.S.?
Don't tell the republicans, they will turn it into doom and gloom.
I want to start being rewarded for not having kids, which means not overwhelming the environment, the schools, the health care system, etc. Where is MY tax credit?
The tax code is not fair to single, childless people. Espeially those without a mortgage.
Short sighted op piece. A burgeoning population is NOT the ideal way to build sustainable growth. There are many negative factors from this. It has never been the sole catalyst for an economic boon. Quite the opposite, more negative cases than positive.
Eventually we will have to move away from mass consumption, economies that have done this have a much higher level of health and populous well-being. This is an indisputable fact. We have china for cheap labour, adding more unskilled job seekers to a depleted job pool will not benefit anyone unfortunately.
Call me when my house recovers the 40% of value it lost since Obama became president. Something tells me you will place that call well after Obama leaves the White House – and certainly not before.
Not gonna happen. The value was over inflated before and the downfall started in 2006.
This guy it out to lunch with this theory.
Wake up sheeple, this guy is lying like all of the politicians.
CNN = COMMUNIST NEWS NETWORK
Most immigrants I have seen are from Mexico or South America. They barely speak english, they can not read or write english above a 2nd grade level. These immigrants typically have children. The same group is a net social~economic drain in regards to taxes and government services. Now through some twisted economic theory, millions of thes these sub-minimum wage workers with dependents will raise our economy?
The immigrants you have met are very different from the ones statistics show are coming to the USA.
The immigrants coming to the USA are professionals with money to invest.
You miss alot when you read the news in the crapper.
Funny but job growth has declined 4 months in a row, and last month at 69,000 it was not even close to the 125.000 needed to keep up with population growth. New people won't be buying houses if they don't have jobs. But this story and others like it will be more common as the election gets closer. The media after all has to put a positive spin on to help Obama get reelected.
Amazing how someone allegedly so intelligent can make such a fatuous statement. Housing was up 0.7% from all time lows and BEFORE the repossessions get back on the market from the banks who have been holding up foreclosures for the best part of a year now due to government regulations. There are too many houses and not enough buyers – the market will not recover until people have jobs AND a confidence that those jobs are safe – a long time off...
Amercan economy is headed for a cliff with expenditures much more than revenue.
But there are no jobs or opportunity for even US citizen college graduate engineers who were born in the USA.
And you think that situation will improve if we elect president outsource?
On the basis of a growing and young population I am putting all my money into West Africa and Aghanistan – I am sure I will double my money before the year's end... NOT.
About time this fraud was put out to grass along with the rest of the crony Obamites on CNN. Let's have some real, impartial news for a change!
Sounds like it's time for you to head back to faux news.
You mean the BBC – I want real news
The Obama spin machine is in full effect at CNN today. Keep up the good work Fareed!
Housing will re-bound until the end of the year. However, assuming Obama gets re-elected, in the healthcare reform law, there is a 3.9% tax on the sale of homes and states can have as much as 1% as well. This will kill any signs of life that appear. After 2013, all bets are off as to the economy coming back as until housing comes back, nothing else has a chance.
Thanks liberals.
You are just spouting crap aren't you?
You have no idea what you are saying.
You just talk, talk and talk some more.
Try as you might to hope and wish otherwise, the US economy is recovering.
I tried not to pleased your opponents, but you become so obsessed by writing crabs with multiple names.
The runaway from Hitler became, so obsessed with the stolen Money.
Hey everyone, Otis the bum here living better than ever, now I get food stamps and free insurance and for heavens sake if they can't find someone for the foreclosed homes, I'll take one also, but in a nice area please; meanwhile, I am going to Greece for some food and to get my money over there also under my alias name!
Since when did Fareed Zacahria become a HOUSING EXPERT??? Oh that's right....................he's a journalist and they think they know everything including economics, healthcare, etc.
What a joke of a commentary! Just take some random facts and present them out of context into an argument that has no substance. CNN – this guy should not get paid!
Does CNN have any other reports than Fareed Zakaria? He seems to write almost all the articles on this site. He must really be an expert on everything from the Middle East to the Housing Market in the U.S. Please get real. The housing market is down, unemployment is up and the economy is in the taken. These media people can say what they want to try to get you to believe differently, but if we have four more years of this administration just wait to see what hard times really are!
I no longer watch Fareed because I think what he writes somehow has a bent favouring the president. I don't appreciate his "slant" as it is not true or accurate. With his straight serious face, you tend to think he has something to level with you but it is all who he wants to favour. I don't think that is honest journalism.
I don't believe the housing industry is improving. Summer typically gets a spike in home sales as school is out and parents have time to look and buy.
So true.......read my post. there are MANY more foreclosures on the horizon out west.
Sister is a realtor in Reno and she tells me we haven't even BEGUN to see the foreclosures that have just been DELAYED due to ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF PAPERWORK mandated by this administration........apparently this White House doesn't BELIEVE that some people got in way over their HEADS when it came to buying homes. $80,000 incomes purchasing $600,000 homes and this administration is just delaying the obvious....................maybe because they want to have the books reflect foreclosures on the next President's watch??
Oh Yeah! Well my sister sells Real Estate in Reno also, and she has never made so much money selling all kinds of Real Estate.
Maybe your sister doesnt know what she is doing and should go back to being a greeter at Walmart.
OMG, the economy is getting better, people are getting jobs, housing prices are going up, we are going to have health care, Osama bin Laden is dead. What is the GOP going to run on; giving more tax breaks to the rich who already have all of the money in the country? Obama wasn't a failure after all, as the GOP tried to paint him.
So how will YOU be paying for your SEVEN new MIDDLE CLASS TAXES that are a result of Obamacare??
Can you please let me know what those taxes are called and your sources?
Thank you so much,
There has been recovery. Housing is in the dumps. Unemployment is rising despite constant speculation to the contrary. Obama had nothing to do whatsoever with OBL.
Stop making up stuff to get this guy re-elected. When November 4 has come and gone, it will be doom and gloom all over again.
CNN should take note of what we the people, think of Fareed Zakaria. I used to like him but I don't think he is such an authority on all subject matters. Just because you can spin it does not make it true. A little information is a dangerous thing.
Perhaps CNN should post the credentials of their "journalists" alongside their credits.
Hey KITKAT, what are your credentials ?
This guy is cracked! we are 15 trillion in debt. There will never be any recovery, period!
Mr. Zakaria, I usually hate the grammar police, but you are such an intellectual that I cringe when you time and time again misuse the word 'data'. The word 'data' is plural, so when you say "the data suggests", it's like nails on a chalkboard to anyone with a background in science. It's like hearing someone say "The people drives cars"...just doesn't make sense.
How convenient, its an election year and for Obama to be re-elected the economy needs to be better and CNN now produces stories about how the economy is better. Of course this isnt based on unemployment rate, debt, deficit, or any other TANGIBLE economic indicator, just CNN's desire for 'the One' to be re-elected.
The growth is fueled through immigration-but unfortunately, aside from Asia, the immigrants coming in today are poor and uneducated, and those are the ones having the most children. Not sure what the future holds, when only the poor and uneducated are the ones having the most children. Just who is going to support them in 20 years??
It's still the objective of the NWO to crash both American and European economies... and will remain that way until it's "mission accomplished"..it's underway and any hint of "upsurge" including but not limited to housing is very temporary and will be short lived.
Since this is unavoidable.. enjoy your life, do what you can for your family, yadda yadda,,, because it will take awhile since, such countries as Russia and China are not on board with the NWO, so, they have challenges facing them. (Which is good).
Conspiracy theory you say?... I wish it was only that.
Dave, my islamic confrere, you are reaching for Allah?
Oh yeah, lets hope that housing prices start going up again. It's not enough that every young person I know has to live with their parents until they are 30 because they can't afford a home. Idiot.
My area shows that houses are selling pretty well again.
But don't worry, our weallthy masters are already putting a stop to it.
The Fed dropped the mortgage rates to the lowest in history which has boosted sales, then then 16 banks including the top 5 who loan on houses, had their credit downgraded the same day the Fed mad the announcement.
Now the banks say they will have to raise mortgage interest rates.
Housing will go down again, the economy will go down again, gas prices will be increased, and we will once again be forced into a DEPRESSION so the wealthy (who have made huge fortunes off the depression) will continue to buy up everything they can at low prices.
Slaves can't win, live with it.
Housing inventory is now down to a 6.5 month supply. 6 months is considered normal. We are back.
The liberal bias of this article is laughable...this coming from a registered Democrat. I know Fareed is trying to stay positive during an election year, and we can try and shine light on what few positive indicators we have. However, the truth of the matter is the economy's performance is poor and getting worse.
I cant write, spell or analyze anything.
I have borderline Schizophrenia.
The doctors tell me that it means that I could have any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions.
It runs in my family because as a good muslim, my mother married her brother.
I love my sisters.
100% why I think America will do well after the dusts settle down. Probably from 2014 we can expect 3-5% growth in America's GDP. The huge national railway and structural upgrading projects alone will contribute to America's GDP by at least 30%. And creating jobs for up to 5 million workers.
Provided Romney is not the President. He has an old habit of sackng workers to cut costs to increase profits.
And of course demographically, USA will stay ahead of the rest of the developed country. All the promises of a greater future is dependent on who runs Congress. If its the same bunch of toothless old timers, America will be back to square one for the next 5 years
Americans must vote with their head and not their hearts. All you need is another Bush Jr as President and we will all be back to carpet bombing some foreign countries, killing innocent civilians, and destroying infrastructures.
vistarian2011
First, you insult the government and the elected leaders of the USA.
eg. same bunch of toothless old timers
Then, you propose a total ban on self-defence
eg. back to carpet bombing some foreign countries, killing innocent civilians, and destroying infrastructures.
What is your agenda?
A reason to be optimistic in today's economy
------------
Europe is declining; the US Federal debt is exceeding 16 trillion; however, a reason to be optimistic in today's economy:
China and her neighboring countries are growing strongly. It could be a long term (50 years) trend.
Good question.
We should say no to single family homes
http://astersheen.blogspot.com/2013/02/say-no-to-single-family-homes.html