A New Economic Reality

Having a quasi-family vacation for the next week or so...thus my blog posts will be brief for a bit.

That said, couldn't help but share these articles. The first is from The Detroit News over the weekend about how foreclosures are sapping Metro Detroit's housing market. The second comes from Comerica Bank, which produces a monthly economic activity index. And we've had minor activity, to say the least.

Both say basically the same thing: Our housing market is in the dumper. Job creation is limited at best. And consumer spending is the only thing that is keeping the state going. Until those indicators improve, Michigan will lag the rest of the nation. I'm seeing a 15-20 year recovery here.

Here's some of Comerica's take:

"The recovery in Michigan, thus far driven largely by increased consumer spending and production, has struggled in the second quarter of the year, with consistent gains in the housing and employment sectors unsustained as of yet.  Over the course of the year, however, broad-based gains in the national economy should result in sustained moderate job growth in Michigan, resulting in an increasingly widespread recovery."

The Detroit News has less than positive news to add.

Long a community tied to big manufacturing firms in Pontiac, Waterford Township is hit hard by the evaporation of thousands of well-paying factory jobs, and many of the vacant homes will likely remain empty, said Township Supervisor Carl Solden. "The availability of homes is so great. There's no demand," he said.

Blah. I added the emphasis. Sad, but true. My husband and I were thinking of renovating our home; now, we're looking at maybe moving instead. Our home is worth little, but those big, previously unattainable homes are suddenly within our price range. Time will tell what will happen.