Wells Fargo said late Thursday that an increase in long-term bond yields that's led to a spike in mortgage rates (rates are still VERY NEAR historic lows), coupled with delays in sales of foreclosure and increased scrutiny of the mortgage market by various states means that the housing recovery is going to take longer than it predicted last month.
Here's the summary: "We have reduced our expectations for new and existing home sales over the next two years and further trimmed back our forecast for housing starts. Home prices are now expected to decline toward the upper end of the six to eight percent range we had been expecting from mid-2010 levels and we have pushed the timing of a bottom further out until mid 2011."
Now remember, that's a national forecast and all markets are local, so with a lower unemployment rate in the Twin Cities and a diversified economy, the Twin Cities could fare better than the national average.
