Ready for a recovery

Home sales and housing starts staged an uneven comeback starting in early 2009, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Even if the recovery in sales and residential construction flourishes, the report warns, the adverse consequences of the recession and the financial crisis will linger. An estimated one in seven homeowners have homes worth less than what they owe on their mortgages and nearly 5 million need their home prices to rebound by 25 percent before they are back above water. In addition, it will take time to work through all the homes in foreclosure.
Despite falling home prices, loan modifications, and softening rents, the downturn did not reduce the number of households spending half or more of their income on housing—18.6 million in 2008. Instead, the share with such severe housing cost burdens climbed to a new height.
Is a recovery coming? Hooker Furniture announced reported net sales of $51.4 million and a net income of $1.1 million. The profit reversed a $456,000 loss in the comparable quarter a year earlier. While this may not signal unbridled consumer spending, purchases can only be put off for so long.
Stay tuned.