After months of effort and patience on the part of many Americans, there are humble signs that the economy is slowly making steps towards the right direction. One of the largest indicators of the nation's economic health, the real estate market, showed an easing ofhome value declines. Property values in 20 major cities decreased 18.1%over the same time last April, the smallest decline in a painful six-month trend.
Time and again economists have stated the importance of the real estate market completely bottoming out in order for the economy to experience a rebound. Aside from home-values not declining as much, some cities have actually reported a slight increase in home prices. Dallas had the largest gain with a reported 1.7% increase in property values.
Overall the trend of a retracting job market is still hampering the economy. Because of the depressed state of the current job market, foreclosures are still happening and even the least risky mortgages are showing increased tardiness in payments. In fact, delinquency rates on the least risky mortgages more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier.
Consumer confidence influenced by the job market and increasing gas prices is understandably declining at this time despite a fairer outlook for the rest of the year.
