The Weather Channel has nothing to do with it. What’s
happening up in the ski resorts, likewise. The ‘snowball effect’ being discussed
in print and on TV won’t soften anytime soon (even if the groundhog was right
about winter being over)..
This is an economic snowball -- one that’s gathering momentum
following what CNN’s Money website describes as “the best year for U.S. real
estate market in five years.” Businesses that stand to benefit from growth in
the housing market are watching closely.
The Wall Street Journal’s snowball report took form in last
Monday’s Marketplace section, where the top headline read “Housing Recovery
Opens Spigot…Makers of Products From Carpets to Air Conditioners Feel Effects of
Rebound.”
It was even more heartening as a counter to last week’s
government indications that the greater economy seemed to slow. The housing
sector’s performance was so strong it acted as a tonic to its many associated
industries: among them, many local retailers.
The
snowball effect was noted widely. The company that makes Carrier air
conditioners said that orders rose 20%; Honeywell International reported the
“first sign of life we have had in a while.”
Locally,
fingers were crossed that Evansville businesses will be swept up in the
snowball. National suppliers expected that to happen. “Housing is what we see
leading the economy out of the doldrums,” according to the CFO of United
Technologies Corp. The WSJ reported evidence that Americans are spending more to
build and refurbish their properties.
With sales
of existing housing registering the largest annual jump since 2004, it should
come as no surprise if Credit Suisse’s Daniel Oppenheim proves correct in
predicting a 7%-8% rise in home improvement spending. He expects it to keep
going for at least the next two years. That’s a pretty solid forecast, and in
line with what most observers are saying.
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