HAPMAN REPORT PREDICTS SLOW JOB, HOUSING GROWTH

In a nutshell, 26,000 new jobs, 6.8% increase in home values, and 10% rebound in construction spending.  Is this accurate?  Are you a half empty or half full type of person.  Tax hikes and uncertainty of the national debt and ceiling are certainly reasonable concerns.  Construction seems likely to make a bigger comeback than that forecast.  However, jobs does remain a concern.  Rumor on the street is that there are companies out there with cash on the sidelines, and jobs in the pipeline.  This column will weigh in with a "half full" vote, that housing will be stronger than last year and the distressed property continuing to be absorbed and outpaced by equity sellers.