Growing Economy Big Factor for Buyers

Economists are surprisingly positive about the impact of rising interest rates on home sales.

The consensus is that while rates are up from where they were, they are still at historically low levels and rock bottom rates are only a part of what encourages people to buy homes. More important factors could be jobs and other financial issues, which appear to be improving.

“Since the recent rate increases have essentially just undone the declines from earlier months, it is hard to see why sales should drop significantly further from current levels,” wrote Goldman Sachs economist Ed McKelvey in a research note published Thursday evening.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (12/17/2010)