New England's Recession Recovery, and more

Take a moment to read some positive news...

LAT (11/11/10): Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a new federal program to make it easier for Americans to make their homes more energy efficient, saying…that it will give families "the tools they need to invest in home energy upgrades. Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle-class families save money and energy."

MortgageLoan.com (11/11/10): Mortgage rates fell again to new record lows this week, following the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it plans to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds to boost lending and the economy…Those who can get approved for a home purchase or mortgage refinance are finding historic bargains on mortgage rates.

WSJ (11/10/10): The commercial real-estate industry stands to benefit from the shifting political power in Washington, as Republicans attempt to roll back some parts of financial regulation and stanch any efforts to raise taxes.

NHR (11/10/10): The city continues to benefit from a stable tenant base, said H. Pearce Co. President Barbara Pearce. “Unlike other times of economic stress, there are not large new blocks of space coming onto the market and increasing the vacancy rate further. This makes New Haven better able to withstand the downturn, without precipitous declines in rental and sales rates,” she said.

AP (11/9/10): Even as the national unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent in September, New England states benefited from more hiring. Except for Rhode Island (Stress score: 12.08), New England has been recovering from the recession better than much of the nation…The region has an educated work force in professional and high-tech jobs, it avoided the real estate boom and bust and it's home to a high-end manufacturing sector…"New England is outperforming the rest of the country in many respects," said [Ross] Gittell, [an economist at the University of New Hampshire].

The Commercial Record (11/8/10): To be successful in the current housing market, real estate professionals need to educate themselves about buying and selling distressed properties and working with investor buyers, who are a significant part of the market," said RE/MAX Chief Executive Officer Margaret Kelly.

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