NAR: Slow Job Gains Should Restrain Rates

The slow recovery in the job market should help keep the pressure off interest rates and sustain a strong housing market this year, according to the National Association of Realtors.In the association's March real estate outlook, NAR chief economist David Lereah points to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Household Survey, which indicates that 1.3 million jobs were created last year. "That's a wider measure of jobs than a separate survey of companies because it includes the self-employed, but we still have a way to go to recover all the jobs lost early in the decade," Mr. Lereah said. "The silver lining now is that interest rates probably won't move much until late in the year when the unemployment rate is expected to drop to 5.4%." The NAR economist said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate should rise slowly, reaching 6.3% in the fourth quarter. The NAR can be found on the Internet at http://realtor.org.