With the newest data on home sales out Wednesday, one thing is clear: The volume of current real estate activity is not what many players hoped it would be.
According to the National Association of Realtors, which tracks home sales, more than 6 million properties a year traded during the boom. Five million this year wouldn’t be great, but it would be something. So far, we’ve struggled to hit even that, with April’s number adjusted downward to a 5 million pace, and then May’s slowing to 4.81 million.
The impact of the housing slump has been extremely painful. Thousands of jobs have been lost in the mortgage, brokerage, and construction industries. My colleague Tara-Nicholle Nelson noted in her recent story that some couples are even delaying their divorces!
(MORE: Man Gets $330,000 Home for $16)
Many, meanwhile, are pinning their hopes for a fuller economic recovery on the revival of the real estate sector.
We want to know what, if anything, our readers think should be done about the industry.
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