There is a lot of speculation about why sales remain slow in the real estate market – especially while interest rates are low and houses are very affordable.  Qualifying for a home loan is more difficult, that is true.  However given the ease in which buyers previously qualified – especially when they really could not afford to buy a home – the stricter rules are a huge necessity.

George Souto of MIddletown, Connecticut has a different theory about why sales remain slow in the very generous interest rate climate,

Until homebuyers stop being worried about a recession, fear of losing their jobs, and confidence restored in our economy, it will not make much difference how low the mortgage rates get, and home prices drop, Real Estate Recovery will most likely remain in its present state. Washington needs to restore confidence to the American people, and jobs need to once again be created. If that happens we will then see, homebuyers return to purchasing homes, and the true Recovery of the Real Estate Industry.

While I’m not an economist, I do know that the flight of jobs overseas has had an enormous impact on consumer confidence. Where our skilled labor force had been able to find jobs fairly easily, now it takes a year or five to land a manufacturing job.  And manufacturing has been a backbone of the American economy for decades. Perhaps by everyone in the nation making a concerted effort to buy American-made will send the message to industry that they are better served keeping the jobs on-shore.