I just read an article in today’s Inman News Service from Doug Duncan, the chief economist at The Mortgage Bankers Association. Doug Duncan believes interest rates will go up slightly by the third quarter of this year. He is also projecting a national slow down of home sales. Because of this, he expects the number of mortgages to decline. In addition, he sees the overall unemployment rate increasing from 4.5% to 4.9% However, he sees the gross domestic product on a slight increase each year.

It will be interesting to see if his predictions hold true. Our Eastside neighborhoods tend to outperform the national trends. The key indicator to watch will be job growth. According to John Tucillo, who is the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, job growth is the key ingredient for a positive real estate market. We are fortunate to be in an area of positive job growth.

By the way, Inman News is a great source for real estate information. The service culls real estate articles from everywhere. This service gives me a good handle on what is happening with real estate nationwide.