The Economy's Impact on the Real Estate Market

Abstract

Real Estate is an important business to Americans because housing is a necessity to all. The problems that exist in acquiring housing are somewhat due to poor economic conditions since the real estate market thrives with a healthy economy. Therefore, it is important for home owners or potential sellers and buyers to understand how the economy affects their chances at success in the housing industry. I worked with Professional Realty, Inc. for three months to better understand the impact of the economy on real estate and to get a better idea of how the real estate business functions. The owner and broker, Cynthia Cooper, led me to valuable sources of information on a variety of aspects of Real Estate. Conversations and interviews with Mrs. Cooper, the entire agent staff, and Mrs. Cooper's business acquaintances helped me form the base of my understanding of real estate and how the economy ties in with this market. In Chapter I, the Real Estate market is broken into two major sections and the trends and factors affecting these sectors will be thoroughly defined. These sections include: the Real Estate Macro market and the Real Estate Micro market. Chapter II will then contain a detailed observation of the local Kalamazoo market and the factors affecting sales and trends in that market. This will be divided into three main sections: The Kalamazoo Real Estate Market, A Regression of the Kalamazoo Sales Performance Trends, and a conclusion to the results of the regression. Finally, in Chapter III, a personal interest will explain the experiences of the Senior Individualized Project.