Tag Archives: Economic Outlook

Housing data was mixed in June, but all main indicators increased during the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year. This supports Fannie Mae's expectation of a broad-based improvement in the housing market.

In the July Economic Outlook, Fannie Mae expects the economy to pick up to an annualized rate of 2.8 percent in Q2, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than the June estimate. Despite volatile economic conditions overseas that could pose headwinds to the U.S. economy, the ESR Group's estimate for full-year economic growth in July is an annualized rate of 2.1 percent, up from June's forecast of 1.9 percent, according to Fannie Mae.

Economic growth is expected to climb to 2.9 percent this year, up from 2.4 percent in 2014, according to Fannie Mae's February 2015 Monthly Economic Outlook released on Thursday. Fannie Mae predicts this economic growth will boost the sluggish housing market into recovery.

While the state of Alabama has been slow to recover economically since the recession officially ended five years ago, recovery of the housing market in the state has struggled along with the rest of the nation so far this year, according to a special commentary on Alabama's economic outlook by the Wells Fargo Economics Group for September 2014.

A report released this week by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American’s Leading Markets Index showed that the economy and housing market are functioning at a level about 87 percent of their pre-crisis normal levels. The report measures metro markets based on housing permits, home prices, and employment.