Low Income Home Ownership: Now More Than Ever

In late 1989, members of the American Society ofReal Estate Counselors participated in a survey about the major forces that will influence real estate over the next two decades. The respondees agreed overwhelmingly that the economic environment of the United States would determine the vitality of the real estate market. Despite a soft economy, there was substantial optimism. Nearly half felt that interest rates would stabilize at about 9 percent over the next 10-20 years. Of the remainder, however, almost twice as many expected interest rates to increase as expected them to fall. The more optimistic expectations were based on a belief, shared by nearly two-thirds of the experts, that the United States would become more competitive in world markets during the next twenty years, resulting in an improvement in the U.S. balance of trade