 |
||||||||||
Gabrielle is proud to be affiliated with the following:
|
Second Largest Market in the United States Homes are the primary financial asset of many Americans – and much more. They are the focus of a $21.6 trillion industry and tens of thousands of businesses and jobs nationwide. The U.S. housing market is larger than the $15 trillion equities market, and represents about one-third of the total value of major asset classes in the U.S. Housing is a vital part of our economy – and an industry that faces risk on many fronts. The health of the housing industry is subject to changes in mortgage rates, increased costs in energy and resources such as oil and lumber, and a range of pressures from the economy overall. Major Market, Uncertain Future In the past two decades the U.S. housing market has experienced unprecedented growth. In the early 1980s, for example, the median home value in the U.S. was about $60,000; by the end of 2004 it had grown to $190,000. In just five years, from 1999 to 2004, housing values on the coasts more than doubled – with median increases of 148 percent in Santa Barbara, for example, and 114 percent in Jersey City. Dramatic increases in housing prices were accompanied by declining mortgage rates. In the early 1980s mortgage rates approached 18 percent, but gradually decreased to under 6 percent by the early 2000s – lows that had not been seen since the 1960s and before. In the face of today's high prices and recent increases in mortgage rates, there is much speculation about what lies ahead. But even if so-called regional housing bubbles do not burst, minor shifts in value and sales can result in substantial losses for entire sectors of the economy.
Source:
Chicago
Mercantile Exchange Housing Futures & Options Brochure [Home]
[Investment Opportunities] [Free
Tips] [Investor Guidelines]
[Founder Biography]
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
