In a speech yesterday in Arlington, Virginia, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke credited high unemployment and continuing home foreclosures with slowing the pace of economic recovery in the United States[1]. He believes that these two factors are not just “restraining the U.S. recovery,” but also putting people at risk of being “left behind.” “Our economy is far from where we would like it to be,” he added, citing “minorities, the young and those with less education” as being particularly at risk.

Although prices on residential properties are still dropping – some reports indicate that they have returned to very near the lows from 2009[2] – home sales are finally on the rise according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR reported that pending sales of existing homes rose in March by 5.1 percent[3]. NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says that this data indicates that “the downtrodden housing market is recovering without the benefit of government programs that spurred gains last year.”

Do you think that Bernanke is right that the market is holding the economy back? Should the government get involved in the housing market again?

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