In addressing the strength of the housing market recovery, as HousingWire tells MHProNews, experts expressed different views. Anthony Sanders, professor of real estate finance at George Mason University, says the market is improving, but slow job growth, stagnant incomes (except for the top five percent), and increasing government involvement are slowing the recovery. Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko says home prices and growth tend to differ geographically. In San Francisco where available land is at a premium prices are exorbitant; in areas where land is more available, owning is less expensive than renting. He says price growth in markets where job growth is weak indicates investors are fueling the increase, not consumers. Fannie Mae Director of Economics Mark Palim notes that while surveys show 91 percent of those 25-34 believe they will someday own a home, currently more household formation is made up of renters than buyers.
