Tag: Mark Zandi

How The Shutdown Is Hurting The Housing Market

by Alan Greenblatt; October 09, 201312:15 PM

If interest rates go up due to the fear or reality of a debt default that would have major consequences for real estate sales.If interest rates go up due to the fear or reality of a debt default that would have major consequences for real estate sales.

Steven Senne/AP

As with so many other types of economic activity, the government shutdown is causing more fear than actual harm in the housing market thus far.

But that doesn’t mean things won’t start going wrong in the very near future.

Various federal agencies play greater or lesser roles in real estate transactions. With most of them sidelined, simple matters such as closing on mortgages are becoming more complicated.

“It’s going to add up pretty quickly, because loans can’t be closed in many cases,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, a financial research organization. “The damage is going to start to mount and in a few days it’s going to be a significant problem for the housing market.” Continue reading “How The Shutdown Is Hurting The Housing Market”

Sequestration cuts expected to hit job market over summer

By Peter Schroeder – 05/07/13 05:00 AM ET

The sequester will take a bigger bite from the economy in the coming months as workers collect more unpaid leave and additional spending cuts are triggered, several economic experts predicted Monday.

A strong employment report in April that found the economy added 165,000 jobs underlined the sense that the labor market is improving, but observers warn it’s too early to declare the economy is safe from sequestration.

“The fiscal drag is going to reach its peak in the second and third quarter, and we know that’s going to be around 2.5 percent of GDP,” said Andrew Busch, a political and economic strategist who advised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in his 2008 presidential campaign.  Continue reading “Sequestration cuts expected to hit job market over summer”

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