ECONOMISTS: REBOUND BY MID-2009

The 2008 fiscal stimulus package, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, should provide a much needed boost to the real estate market. Yun says that the tax rebate is needed to compensate for very high oil prices and the falling stock market. The former, he says, is caused in part by the US having a higher inflation rate than other countries which causes a weaker dollar. When oil prices rise, that fills the coffers of Russia, Venezuel, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iran, transferring money from a democratic country to a non-democratic country. A higher loan limit in Los Angeles, Orange and San Franciso counties, from $417,00 to $729,000 will give the housing market a lift in those areas. Inventories go down and home prices strengthen as sales rise. Lawrence Yun received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is Managing Diretor of Quantitative research at the National Association of Realtors where he manages the Statistics and Forecasting Groups of the Research Division. Yun writes columns on real estate market trends, creates NAR’s forecasts and participates on many economic forecasting panels, including Blue Chip and Harvard University Industrial Economist Council. Though the economy for the entire nation is sluggish now, many economists are expecting a rebound by the second half of next year.