Economy

Economy

Housing Played Role in Post-Recession Economic Expansion

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recession

From staff reports

It’s no secret that housing took a huge hit during the last recession. But during this long period of economic expansion that followed — a record 121 months as of July 2019 — how did the market fare?

A special CoreLogic report, “The Role of Housing in the Longest Economic Expansion,” takes a look at the years from 2008 (the start of the Recession) to July 2019. 

“June 2009 marked the trough of the Great Recession, after which gross domestic product (GDP) and industrial production resumed growth,” the report said. “Since then, the economy has continued to grow. With housing comprising approximately 15 percent of GDP since 2010, the real estate market is an important indicator of economic health.”

How did that factor in Texas? The report refers to the CoreLogic Home Price Index, which uses public records, real estate databases and other data, as well as more than 40 years of repeat sales transactions to analyze home price trends.  (more…)
Economy

More Than Half of Americans Losing Sleep Over Money Issues

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money

Photo courtesy Flickr/Elias Quezada

From staff reports

More than half of U.S. adults say they’ve lost sleep over at least one money issue, according to a new Bankrate.com report. 

That includes 18 percent who say they’ve lost sleep over worries they’d be unable to pay their mortgage or rent. In fact, that number is up from last year’s 12 percent who said housing costs kept them up at night.

Gen Xers and Millennials worry the most about this, with 24 percent of the former and 20 percent of the latter saying they’ve lost sleep over worrying about making rent. Fourteen percent of Baby Boomers said they had. (more…)
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Economy

Americans Want to Save Enough to Retire, But Doubt It Will Happen

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Photo courtesy Joint Base San Antonio

From staff reports

Not quite 20 percent of Americans surveyed by LendEDU said their goal was to save enough to retire one day, but almost 40 percent of them felt that goal was unattainable.

The survey was released earlier this month, and polled 1,000 Americans to understand their financial goals and their confidence that they could meet them. The data was then sorted further by generation.

Also on many minds was paying off credit card debt — 14 percent said it was a goal, but seven percent weren’t confident they would. Twenty percent said they wanted to buy their own home, but 17 percent didn’t believe they would be able to do so. 

Four percent of the post-millennial age bracket said they’d like to invest in real estate — more than the stock market or creating a retirement account. (more…)
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Economy

New Bankrate Survey: Two-Thirds Say Home Worth More After Recession

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recessionFrom staff reports

About two-thirds of homeowners who are still living the same house they were in 10 years ago when the Great Recession began have reported that their home is worth more now, a new Bankrate survey revealed.

The survey found that 23 percent said the value is about the same as it was in December 2007, while 11 percent said their home is worth less now.

Forty-six percent of homeowners said their property lost value from December 2007 to June 2009. More than 20 percent who reported that their home lost value during the Great Recession said the home never regained its pre-recession worth. One in 10 whose home value depreciated said they don’t want to own a home now, and 23 percent said they now have a more affordable home and/or mortgage. (more…)
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Economy

When Homes Shrink, What Does It Mean For the Economy?

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homesIt was a Tweet that had us sitting up and paying attention, as the National Association of Home Builders pointed out last week that although homes got slightly larger from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019, sizes are still declining.

Size, you see, matters. NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz explained in a research note that the post-recession increase in home size was expected — homes generally get bigger as the economy emerges from a recession. (more…)
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Economy

How Hard Is It To Sock Away a Six-Month Emergency Fund in Dallas?

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From staff reports

It takes more than two years to sock away enough money to address a six-month emergency fund in the Dallas metro area, a new Bankrate.com report revealed.

The area ranks 15th hardest of the top 50 metros when it comes to building a six-month emergency savings fund. That fund would be able to pay for housing costs (mortgage or rent, insurance, property taxes) as well as living expenses like groceries, transportation, utilities, etc.

Factoring all that in, Dallas-area household can theoretically save up to $9,704 of its $56,671 annual take-home pay, Bankrate said, which means it would take 29 months to achieve the area’s average recommended emergency fund of $23,484, enough to cover these expenses for six months. (more…)
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Economy

Want To Start a Business? DFW Is Not a Bad Place to Start

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

From staff reports

Thanks to the Internet, you can start a business just about anywhere, but 20 cities are better for budding entrepreneurs — and Dallas-Fort Worth appears there, WalletHub said this week.

Fort Worth ranked 11th on the list of 100, while Dallas and Irving were 15th and 17th, respectively. Three more North Texas cities made the 100-city total list: Arlington ranked 31st, Plano was 68th, and Garland 76th. (more…)
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Economy

Housing Affordability Continues to Lag in Dallas

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housing affordabilityFrom staff reports

Although housing affordability is at an all-time low in Dallas, home price appreciation has decelerated recently, the latest report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas revealed.

The report, released March 14, also revealed that Dallas-Fort Worth employment grew by 2.5 percent in 2018.

(more…)
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