HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
United States
• Details of the huge shadow inventory of vacant foreclosed real estate is starting to shake prices. There is speculation that as these homes now come to the market in higher numbers that they will push down prices further and increase the supply of property well above the market demand.
• While retail gas prices have grown 20% over the last three months, we count ten separate occasions over the last decade where prices have jumped by an equal or greater amount. The problem is that prices are rising off levels that are already high to begin with. The negative economic effects could be mitigated if incomes were growing at a brisker pace. Unfortunately, income growth has stalled in recent months.
• Still, there are at least a few reasons to be hopeful that rising energy prices won’t hurt the economy as much as is feared. Real fuel consumption is down 7% from last year, aided in part by a surge in new car sales that is facilitating the conversion of America’s aging auto stock to a more fuel-efficient fleet.
Canada
• The Canadian labour market created a stunning 82,000 new jobs in March, bouncing out of its recent lull. The unemployment rate edged down to 7.2%, from 7.4% in the prior month.
• The composition of Canadian job gains was also favourable, with the bulk of employment growth concentrated in full-time positions.
• The CFIB’s small business barometer showed that business confidence improved for a seventh straight month in March. Hiring intentions improved sharply, indicating a continued healthy, but more moderate pace of job creation going forward.
Here are a few of my favorite past articles from my Lethbridge real estate and mortgage blog you might have missed or wish to recommend them to a friend.
Robert May is a Realtor, as well as the broker and owner of Rainbow Realty of Lethbridge Alberta . He is also a licensed Lethbridge mortgage broker and financing expert with Canada First Mortgage of Calgary Alberta. He has been in the Lethbridge real estate industry since 1993 and offers full Lethbridge real estate services to Lethbridge and surrounding area, as well as Lethbridge mortgage financing, mortgage refinancing , preapprovals, and Lethbridge loans financing to Lethbridge and Southern Alberta. He can be found online at this link: mortgage broker Lethbridge
Let me share my 16+ years experience in the local Lethbridge real estate and financing market with you! It is the first step towards making a profitable real estate decision.
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