Housing One of the Main Catalysts to Sustain the Growth

May 21, 2013

A devastating tornado hit a suburb in Oklahoma yesterday with wind speeds of up to 200 mph killing at least 51 people, 20 of them children. The tornado raced through the suburb of Moore and ripped through two elementary schools. The tornado touched down near 3:00pm with just a 16 minute warning.

Government Sponsored Enterprise Fannie Mae published its monthly market update yesterday reporting that the U.S. economy should see a modest re-acceleration in the second half of 2013, with housing one of the main catalysts to sustain the growth. Fannie Mae went on to say that economic activity eased in the past few months due to fiscal drags and the sequester.

The GSE sees growth of 2.2% in 2013, which follows a 1.7% gain and 2% growth in 2012 and 2011, respectively. Fannie sees improvements in home purchase demand. Fannie Mae was founded in 1938 and guarantees and purchases loans from mortgage lenders to ensure families can buy homes, refinance, or rent a home.