Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist and vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors, addressed a crowd of approximately 200 people at the Economic Forecast Breakfast held by the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors.
“We are coming out of it,” said Dr. Yun of the current economic condition. “The worst is clearly behind us. The question becomes whether or not it will be a fast, moderate or slow recovery.”
During his presentation, he compared real estate trends throughout the country with highlights of the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas. The Phoenix area, he said, has increasingly less foreclosures and a higher volume of home sales. Home sales will continue to increase by 6% over the next couple years due to a projected steady job growth of 4%.
“It is the Best Affordability Condition Index, an index NAR created, which takes into account home value, income and mortgage rates. Right now we are at the greatest high of affordability from at least the past 40 years, since this index was created,” said Dr. Yun.
Statistics during the presentation were provided from “Homeownership Matters,” the 2012 Public Awareness Campaign for the National Association of Realtors. This campaign states that every home purchased pumps $60,000 into the local economy. For every two homes sold, one job is created and home ownership accounts for over $2 trillion of the U.S. GDP.
