Real Estate Outlook Promising

According to national cyndicated columnist, Ken Harney, after a few weeks in August, where the economic and housing outlooks have been a little sobering, the numbers at the beginning of September are looking increasingly positive.



The latest Commerce Department study finds that consumer spending is on the upswing, and just registered the biggest upswing in four months.



On the housing front, there are even more encouraging numbers:

1. Pending home sales, which had been sliding since the phase out of the tax credits last spring, rose by 5.2 percent according to the National Association of Realtors.


2. Standard and Poors/Case-Shiller index reported home prices in the top 20 metropolitan areas gained 4.2 percent over last year.

As long as rates remain in the mid four percent range -- the Federal Reserve Chairman says he's committed to keeping them low. Housing should look increasingly attractive to first-home buyers and move up buyers, who find they can now afford much more house than they might have imagined.